Alkaline protease from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) and washing and cleaning products comprising said alkaline protease

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a novel alkaline protease of the subtilisin type from  Bacillus  sp. (DSM 14392) and various related proteins and derivatives thereof. The invention further relates to washing and cleaning agents comprising said novel alkaline proteases of the subtilisin type, various related proteins and derivatives thereof and corresponding washing and cleaning methods and use thereof in washing and cleaning agents and further technical applications.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of PCT/EP02/14132 filed Dec. 12,2002, which claims the benefit of DE 101 63 884.1, filed Dec. 22, 2001,the complete disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel alkaline protease of thesubtilisin type from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392), and sufficiently relatedproteins and derivatives thereof. It additionally relates to washing andcleaning products with this novel alkaline protease of the subtilisintype, sufficiently related proteins and derivatives thereof,corresponding washing and cleaning methods and the use thereof inwashing and cleaning products and further possible technical uses.

Proteases of the subtilisin type (subtilases, subtilopeptidases, EC3.4.21.62), in particular subtilisins, are classed as belonging to theserine proteases, owing to the catalytically active amino acids. Theyare naturally produced and secreted by microorganisms, in particular byBacillus species. They act as unspecific endopeptidases, i.e. theyhydrolyze any acid amide bonds located inside peptides or proteins.Their pH optimum is usually within the distinctly alkaline range. Areview of this family is provided, for example, by the paper“Subtilases: Subtilisin-like Proteases” by R. Siezen, pages 75-95 in“Subtilisin enzymes”, edited by R. Bott and C. Betzel, New York, 1996.Subtilisins are suitable for a multiplicity of possible technical uses,as components of cosmetics and, in particular, as active ingredients ofdetergents or cleaning agents.

Enzymes are established active ingredients of washing and cleaningproducts. In this connection, proteases bring about the breakdown ofproteinaceous soilings on the material to be cleaned such as, forexample, textiles or hard surfaces. In favorable cases there aresynergistic effects between the enzymes and the other constituents ofthe relevant products. This is described for example in U.S. Pat. No.6,008,178. Owing to their favorable enzymic properties such as stabilityor pH optimum, subtilisins stand out among the washing and cleaningproduct proteases. The most important ones and the most importantstrategies for their technical development are stated below.

The development of washing product proteases is based on natural enzymeswhich are preferably produced by microbes. They are optimized bymutagenesis methods known per se, for example point mutagenesis,deletion, insertion or fusion with other proteins or protein portions orvia other modifications for use in washing and cleaning products.

Thus, for example, according to application WO 93/07276, the protease164-A1 which is obtainable from Bacillus spec. 164-A1 and is supplied byChemgen Corp., Gaithersburg, Md., USA, and Vista Chemical Company,Austin, Tex., USA, is suitable for use in washing and cleaning products.Other examples are the alkaline protease from Bacillus sp. PD138, NCIMB40338 of Novozymes (WO 93/18140), the proteinase K-16 derived fromBacillus sp. ferm. BP-3376 of Kao Corp., Tokyo, Japan, (U.S. Pat. No.5,344,770) and, according to WO 96/25489 (Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati,Ohio, USA), the protease from the psychrophilic organism Flavobacteriumbalustinum. Further proteases of microbial origin which are suitable foruse in washing and cleaning products are also known from the patentliterature: for example from Pseudomonas (WO 00/05352), fromMetarrhizium (EP 601005), from Bacillus alkalophilus DMS 6845 or DSM5466 (DE 4411223) and various other microorganisms (WO 95/07350, EP1029920, EP 578712, WO 01/00764, U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,740, WO 01/16285).

Subtilisin BPN′ which is derived from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and B.subtilis, respectively, has been disclosed in the studies by Vasantha etal. (1984) in J. Bacteriol., Volume 159, pp. 811-819 and by J. A. Wellset al. (1983) in Nucleic Acids Research, Volume II, pp. 7911-7925.Subtilisin BPN′ serves as reference enzyme of the subtilisins, inparticular with respect to numbering of positions. The application CA2049097 discloses multiple mutants of this molecule, especially inrelation to their stability in washing and cleaning products. Variantswhich are obtained by point mutations in the loop regions of this enzymeand which have reduced binding to the substrate with, at the same time,an increased rate of hydrolysis are presented for example in the patentapplications WO 95/07991 and WO 95/30010. Washing products with suchBPN′ variants are disclosed for example in the patent application WO95/29979.

The publications by E. L. Smith et al. (1968) in J. Biol. Chem., Volume243, pp. 2184-2191, and by Jacobs et al. (1985) in Nucl. Acids Res.,Volume 13, pp. 8913-8926 introduce the protease subtilisin Carlsberg. Itis naturally produced by Bacillus licheniformis and was and,respectively, is obtainable under the trade name Maxatase® from GenencorInternational Inc., Rochester, N.Y., USA, and under the trade nameAlcalase® from Novozymes A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark. Variants thereof whichare obtainable by point mutations and have reduced binding to thesubstrate with a simultaneously increased rate of hydrolysis aredisclosed, for example, by the application WO 96/28566 A2. These arevariants in which single or multiple substitutions in the loop regionsof the molecule have been carried out.

The protease PB92 is produced naturally by the alkaliphilic bacteriumBacillus nov. spec. 92 and was obtainable under the trade name Maxacal®from Gist-Brocades, Delft, The Netherlands. Its original sequence isdescribed in patent application EP 283075 A2. Variants of said enzymewhich have been obtained by point mutation and which are suitable foruse in detergents and cleaning agents are disclosed in the applicationsWO 94/02618 and EP 328229, for example.

The subtilisins 147 and 309 are sold by Novozymes under the trade namesEsperase® and Savinase®, respectively. They are originally derived fromBacillus strains disclosed by the application GB 1243784. Variants ofsaid enzymes, which have been developed by means of point mutagenesiswith respect to usage in washing and cleaning products, are disclosed,for example, in the applications WO 94/02618 (see above), WO 89/06279,WO 95/30011 and WO 99/27082. The application WO 89/06279 aimed atachieving higher oxidation stability, an increased rate of proteolysisand enhanced washing performance. It reveals that substitutions atparticular positions alter the physical or chemical properties ofsubtilisin 147 or 309 molecules. The application WO 95/30011 introducesvariants of subtilisin 309 which have point mutations in the loopregions of the molecule and thus exhibit reduced adsorption to thesubstrate with a simultaneously increased rate of hydrolysis. Theapplication WO 99/27082 develops variants of, by way of example,subtilisin 309, whose washing performance is enhanced by enlarging theactive loops by inserting at least one amino acid.

The B. lentus alkaline proteases are highly alkaline proteases fromBacillus species. The wild-type enzyme is derived from an alkaliphilicbacillus strain and itself shows comparatively high stability towardsoxidation and the action of detergents. This strain was, according tothe application WO 91/02792 (EP 493398 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,604),deposited under the number DSM 5483. According to the same application,the enzyme can be expressed heterologously in the host Bacilluslicheniformis. Its three-dimensional structure is described in thepublication of Goddette et al. (1992), J. Mol. Biol. Volume 228, pages580-595: “The crystal structure of the Bacillus lentus alkalineprotease, Subtilisin BL, at 1.4 Å resolution”. Variants of this enzymewhich can be obtained by point mutation and are suitable for use inwashing and cleaning products are disclosed in WO 92/21760 (U.S. Pat.No. 5,340,735, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,364 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,639) andWO 95/23221 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,295, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,801,039 and5,855,625). The strategy underlying WO 95/23221, namely deliberatealteration of the charge conditions near the substrate binding pocket isexplained in U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,589. Further variants of this proteaseare described in the as yet unpublished applications DE 10121463 and DE10153792.

Subtilisin DY has originally been described by Nedkov et al. 1985 inBiol. Chem Hoppe-Seyler, Volume 366, pp. 421-430. According to theapplication WO 96/28557, for example, it may be optimized via specificpoint mutations in the active loops for usage in detergents and cleaningagents, producing variants having reduced adsorption and an increasedrate of hydrolysis.

The enzyme thermitase which is to be assigned to the subtilases, but nolonger to the subtilisins, (cf. R. Siezen, pages 75-95 in “Subtilisinenzymes”, published by R. Bott and C. Betzel, New York, 1996) and isproduced naturally by Thermoactinomyces vulgaris was originallydescribed by Meloun et al. (FEBS Lett. 1983, pp. 195-200). Theapplication WO 96/28558, for example, discloses variants having reducedabsorption and an increased rate of hydrolysis, owing to substitutionsin the loop regions. However, thermitase is a molecule whose sequenceoverall deviates considerably from those of the other subtilisins.

Proteinase K is also a subtilase which has comparatively low homology,for example, to B. lentus alkaline protease. Proteinase K is originallyfrom the microorganism Tritirachium album Limber and has been describedby K.-D. Jany and B. Mayer 1985 in Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler, Vol. 366,pp. 485-492. The application WO 96/28556 discloses numerous variants ofproteinase K which are obtainable by point mutagenesis and have reducedadsorption to the substrate and an increased rate of hydrolysis.

WO 88/07581, finally, discloses the very similar proteases TW3 and TW7,inter alia for usage in washing and cleaning products.

The applications EP 199404, EP 251446, WO 91/06637 and WO 95/10591, forexample, describe further proteases which are suitable for technicaluse, in particular in detergents and cleaning agents. The proteases ofthe application EP 199404 are various BPN′ variants which are based onthe patent EP 130756. EP 251446 discloses numerous BPN′ variants,obtainable by exchanging individual amino acids. The proteases of theapplication WO 91/06637 are distinguished by point mutations of BPN′ inpositions 123 and/or 274. WO 95/10591 reveals variants, mainly of theBacillus lentus protease, which have mutations in position 76 and alsoother positions.

Other known proteases are, for example, the enzymes obtainable under thetrade names Durazym®, Relase®, Everlase®, Nafizym, Natalase®, Kannase®and Ovozymes® from Novozymes, under the trade names Maxapem®, Purafect®,Purafect OxP® and Properase® from Genencor, under the trade nameProtosol® from Advanced Biochemicals Ltd., Thane, India and under thetrade name Wuxi® from Wuxi Snyder Bioproducts Ltd., China.

One strategy for enhancing the washing performance of subtilisins is toreplace randomly or specifically individual amino acids by others in theknown molecules, and to test the variants obtained for their washingperformance contributions. This strategy is pursued by some of thefurther developments indicated in each case above, for example EP130756. The allergenicity of the enzymes can also be improved forexample according to WO 99/49056, WO 99/49057 and WO 01/07575 withcertain amino acid exchanges or deletions.

In order to enhance the washing performance of subtilisins, numerousapplications pursued the strategy of inserting additional amino acidsinto the active loops, thus, for example, apart from the alreadymentioned WO 99/27082, also the applications published with the numbersWO 00/37599, WO 00/37621 to WO 00/37627 and WO 00/71683 to WO 00/71691.Said strategy should accordingly be applicable in principle to allsubtilisins belonging to either of the subgroups I-S1 (true subtilisins)or I-S2 (highly alkaline subtilisins).

Another strategy of enhancing the performance is to modify the surfacecharges and/or the isoelectric point of the molecules, thereby alteringtheir interaction with the substrate. Variations of this kind aredisclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,587 and the applicationsEP 405901, EP 945502 A1, WO 91/00334 and WO 91/00345. WO 92/11348discloses point mutations for reducing the pH-dependent variation in themolecular charge. The application WO 00/24924 derives from thisprinciple a method for identifying variants which are supposedlysuitable for usage in washing and cleaning products; all variantsdisclosed here have at least one substitution at position 103,preference being given to multiple variants containing no substitutionrelevant to the present application. According to WO 96/34935, it isalso possible to increase the hydrophobicity of the molecules for thepurpose of enhancing the performance in washing and cleaning products,and this may influence the stability of the enzyme.

The application WO 99/20727 discloses subtilisin variants as areobtained by a method of the application WO 00/24924: they all compriseat least one substitution at position 103, combined with a multiplicityof other possible substitutions. The applications WO 99/20723 and WO99/20726 disclose the same mutants for washing and cleaning productswhich additionally contain an amylase, or bleach.

Another method for modulating the efficiency of proteases is to formfusion proteins. Thus, for example, the applications WO 98/13483 and WO00/01831 disclose fusion proteins composed of proteases and an inhibitorsuch as the Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor. Another possibility is,for example according to WO 97/28243 or WO 99/57250, to couple to thecellulose binding domain (CBD), which is derived from cellulases, toincrease the concentration of active enzyme in the direct vicinity ofthe substrate. According to WO 99/48918 the allergenicity orimmunogenicity is reduced by coupling a peptide linker, and polymersthereon.

Variants with improved performance due to randomly generated amino acidexchanges and subsequent selection are revealed for example in WO99/20769. A random method, based on the phage display system, forevolving proteases for use in washing and cleaning products is revealedfor example in the application WO 97/09446.

A modern direction in enzyme development is to combine, via statisticalmethods, elements from known proteins related to one another to givenovel enzymes having properties which have not been achieved previously.Methods of this kind are also listed under the generic term directedevolution and include, for example, the following methods: the StEPmethod (Zhao et al. (1998), Nat. Biotechnol., Volume 16, pp. 258-261),random priming recombination (Shao et al., (1998), Nucleic Acids Res.,Volume 26, pp. 681-683), DNA shuffling (Semmer, W. P. C. (1994), Nature,Volume 370, pp. 389-391) or recursive sequence recombination (RSR; WO98/27230, WO 97/20078, WO 95/22625) or the RACHITT (Coco, W. M. et al.(2001), Nat. Biotechnol., Volume 19, pp. 354-359). A survey of suchmethods is also provided by the prior article “Gerichtete Evolution undBiokatalyse” by Powell et al. (2001), Angew. Chem., Vol. 113, pages4068-4080.

Another, in particular complementary, strategy is to increase thestability of the proteases concerned and thus to increase theirefficacy. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,891 has describedstabilization via coupling to a polymer for proteases used in cosmetics;said stabilization is accompanied by enhanced skin compatibility.Especially for detergents and cleaning agents, on the other hand,stabilizations by point mutations are more familiar. Thus, according toU.S. Pat. No. 6,087,315 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,884, it is possible tostabilize proteases by replacing particular tyrosine residues with otherresidues. WO 89/09819 and WO 89/09830 describe relatively thermostableBPN′ variants obtained by amino-acid substitution. Other possibleexamples of stabilization via point mutagenesis, which have beendescribed, are:

-   -   replacing particular amino acid residues with proline according        to WO 92/19729, and, respectively, EP 583339 and U.S. Pat. No.        5,858,757 and according to EP 516200;    -   introducing more polar or more highly charged groups on the        molecule surface, according to EP 525610, EP 995801 and U.S.        Pat. No. 5,453,372;    -   enhancing the binding of metal ions, in particular via        mutagenesis of calcium binding sites, for example according to        the teaching of the applications WO 88/08028 and WO 88/08033;    -   blocking autolysis by modification or mutagenesis, for example        according to WO 98/20116 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,302.    -   Combination of a plurality of stabilization strategies as        disclosed in the application EP 398539 A1.    -   According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,735, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,364,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,639 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,553, the        positions relevant to stabilization can be found by analysis of        the three-dimensional structure.

The documents EP 755999 and WO 98/30669, for example, disclose thatproteases may be used together with α-amylases and other washing productenzymes in order to enhance the washing or cleaning performance. Forexample, EP 791046 discloses the possibility of combination withlipases. The application WO 95/10592 for example reveals that thevariants previously described in WO 95/10591 for use in washing productsare also suitable for use in bleaches. U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,226 forexample discloses the simultaneous use of protease and soil releaseagents in washing products.

The application WO 97/07770 for example discloses that some proteasesestablished for use in washing products are also suitable for cosmeticpurposes. A further possible technical use of proteases is presented forexample in the application EP 380362 A1. This relates to organicchemical syntheses, and the subtilisins said according to thisapplication to be suitable for this are those stabilized by pointmutagenesis.

The diverse technical areas of use presented here by way of examplerequire proteases with different properties relating for example to thereaction conditions, the stability or the substrate specificity.Conversely, the possibilities of technical use of proteases, for examplein the context of a washing or cleaning product formula, depend onfurther factors such as stability of the enzyme towards hightemperatures, towards oxidizing agents, its denaturation by surfactants,on folding effects or on desired synergies with other ingredients.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, there continues to be a great need for proteases which can beemployed technically and which, owing to the large number of their areasof application, in their totality cover a wide range of properties,including very subtle differences in performance.

The basis for this is expanded by novel proteases which in turn arecapable of further development targeted at specific areas ofapplication.

The present invention was thus based on the object of finding a further,as yet unknown protease. It was intended that the wild-type enzymepreferably be distinguished in that on use in an appropriate product itat least comes close to the enzymes established for this purpose. Ofparticular interest in this connection was the contribution to theperformance of a washing or cleaning product.

Further subsidiary objects were to provide nucleic acids coding forproteases of this kind and to provide vectors, host cells andpreparation methods which may be utilized for obtaining proteases ofthis kind. It was further intended to provide corresponding products, inparticular washing and cleaning products, corresponding washing andcleaning methods and also corresponding possible uses for proteases ofthis kind. Finally, it was intended to define possible technical usesfor the proteases found.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: Alignment of the amino acid sequences of the protease of theinvention from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) with the most similar and themost important known subtilisins which are compiled in table 2, in eachcase in the mature, i.e. processed, form.

The following numbers stand for the following proteases (in parenthesesin each case the ID of the database entry; compare also Table 2 inExample 2):

-   -   1 Protease of the invention from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) [SEQ        ID NO:3]    -   2 Alkaline elastase from B. Ya-B (ELYA_BACSP) [SEQ ID NO:4]    -   3 Subtilisin P92 from B. alkalophilus (ELYA_BACAO) [SEQ ID NO:5]    -   4 Savinase® from B. lentus (SUBS_BACLE) [SEQ ID NO:6]    -   5 Subtilisin BL from B. lentus (SUBB_BACLE) [SEQ ID NO:7]    -   6 Subtilisin Sendai AprS from B. sp. (Q45522) [SEQ ID NO:8]    -   7 Subtilisin AprQ from B. sp. (Q45523) [SEQ ID NO:9]    -   8 Subtilisin Carlsberg from B. licheniformis (SUBT_BACLI) [SEQ        ID NO:10]    -   9 Subtilisin Novo BPN′ from B. amyloliquefaciens (SUBT_BACAM)        [SEQ ID NO:11]    -   10 Subtilisin DY from B. subtilis DY (SUBT_BACSD) [SEQ ID NO:12]    -   11 AprN from B. subtilis var. natto (SUBN_BACNA) [SEQ ID NO:13]    -   12 Subtilisin from B. amylosacchariticus (SUBT_BACSA) [SEQ ID        NO:14]    -   13 Subtilisin from B. pumilus (SUB_BACPU) [SEQ ID NO:15]    -   14 Subtilisin J from Geobacillus stearothermophilus (SUBT_BACST)        [SEQ ID NO:16]    -   15 Subtilisin E from B. subtilis (SUBT_BACSU) [SEQ ID NO:17]

FIG. 2: The expression vector pAWA22 which is derived from pBC16 and hasa promoter from B. licheniformis (PromPLi) and, downstream thereof, aBcl I restriction cleavage site (compare example 2 and Bernhard et al.(1978), J. Bacteriol., 133 (2), pp. 897-903).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The object is achieved by alkaline proteases of the subtilisin typehaving amino acid sequences which are at least 98.1% identical to theamino acid sequence indicated in the sequence listing under SEQ ID NO:2.

Increasing preference is given in each case to those having anincreasing extent of identity with the novel alkaline protease fromBacillus sp. (DSM 14392).

Further achievements of the object or achievements of the subsidiaryobjects, thus in each case intrinsic aspects of the invention, comprisenucleic acids whose sequences are sufficiently similar to the nucleotidesequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:1 or code for proteases of theinvention, and comprise appropriate vectors, cells or host cells andproduction methods. Also provided are corresponding products, inparticular washing and cleaning products, corresponding washing andcleaning products and also corresponding possible uses for proteases ofthis kind. Finally, possible technical uses for the proteases found aredefined.

A protein means in accordance with the present application a polymerwhich is composed of the natural amino acids, has a substantially linearstructure and usually adopts a three dimensional structure to exert itsfunction. The present application refers to the 19 proteinogenic,naturally occurring L-amino acids by the internationally used 1- and3-letter codes. The combination of any of these names with a numberindicates the amino acid residue which the particular protein carries atthe respective position. Similar designations are established for pointmutations. Unless stated otherwise, positions indicated refer to the ineach case mature forms of the proteins concerned, i.e. without thesignal peptides (see below).

An enzyme in accordance with the present application means a proteinwhich exerts a particular biochemical function. Proteolytic enzymes orenzymes with proteolytic function, for example, mean generally thosewhich hydrolyze the acid amide bonds of proteins, in particular thosebonds located inside the proteins, and which may therefore also bereferred to as endopeptidases. Subtilisin proteases are thoseendopeptidases which are naturally produced by Gram-positive bacteriaand usually secreted or which are derived from the latter, for examplevia molecular-biological methods, and can be homologized with thenatural subtilisin proteases via part regions such as structure-formingor function-carrying regions. They are assigned to the subtilases. Theseare described, for example, in the paper “Subtilases: Subtilisin-likeProteases” by R. Siezen, pages 75-95 in “Subtilisin enzymes”, edited byR. Bott and C. Betzel, New York, 1996.

Numerous proteins are formed as “preproteins”, i.e. together with asignal peptide. This then means the N-terminal part of the protein,whose function usually is to ensure the export of the protein producedfrom the producing cell into the periplasm or into the surroundingmedium and/or the correct folding thereof. Subsequently, the signalpeptide is removed from the remaining protein under natural conditionsby a signal peptidase so that said protein exerts its actual catalyticactivity without the initially present N-terminal amino acids.

Owing to their enzymic activity, preference is given for technicalapplications to the mature peptides, i.e. the enzymes processed aftertheir preparation, over the preproteins.

Pro-proteins are inactive precursors of proteins. The precursors of theformer containing a signal sequence are referred to as prepro-proteins.

Nucleic acids mean in accordance with the present application themolecules which are naturally composed of nucleotides, serve asinformation carriers and code for the linear amino acid sequence inproteins or enzymes. They may be present as single strand, as a singlestrand complementary to said single strand or as double strand. Formolecular-biological work, preference is given to the nucleic acid DNAas the naturally more durable information carrier. In contrast, a RNA isproduced to implement the invention in a natural environment such as,for example, in an expressing cell, and RNA molecules important to theinvention are therefore likewise embodiments of the present invention.In turn, (c)DNA molecules can be derived from them for example byreverse transcription.

In accordance with the present application, the information unit of anucleic acid, which corresponds to a protein, is also referred to asgene. In the case of DNA, the sequences of both complementary strands inin each case all three possible reading frames must be taken intoaccount. The fact that different codon triplets can code for the sameamino acids so that a particular amino acid sequence can be derived froma plurality of different nucleotide sequences which possibly only havelow identity must also be taken into account (degeneracy of the geneticcode). Moreover, various organisms differ in the use of these codons.For these reasons, both amino acid sequences and nucleotide sequencesmust be incorporated into the scope of protection, and nucleotidesequences indicated are in each case regarded only as coding by way ofexample for a particular amino acid sequence.

It is possible for a skilled worker, via nowadays generally knownmethods such as, for example, chemical synthesis or polymerase chainreaction (PCR) in combination with molecular-biological and/orprotein-chemical standard methods, to prepare complete genes on thebasis of known DNA sequences and/or amino acid sequences. Methods ofthis kind are known, for example, from the “Lexikon der Biochemie”[encyclopedia of biochemistry], Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Berlin,1999, Volume 1, pp. 267-271 and Volume 2, pp. 227-229. This is possible,in particular, if a strain deposited with a strain collection can beused. For example, using PCR primers which can be synthesized on thebasis of a known sequence, and/or via isolated mRNA molecules, it ispossible to synthesize, clone and, if desired, further process, forexample mutagenize, the genes in question from such strains.

Changes of the nucleotide sequence, such as those which may be produced,for example, by molecular-biological methods known per se, are referredto as mutations. Depending on the type of change, deletion, insertion orsubstitution mutations, for example, or those in which various genes orparts of genes are fused to one another (shuffling) are known; these aregene mutations. The corresponding organisms are referred to as mutants.The proteins derived from mutated nucleic acids are referred to asvariants. Thus, for example, deletion, insertion, substitution mutationsor fusions result in deletion-, insertion-, substitution-mutated orfusion genes and, at the protein level, in corresponding deletion,insertion or substitution variants, or fusion proteins.

Vectors mean in accordance with the present invention elements whichconsist of nucleic acids and which comprise a gene of interest ascharacteristic nucleic acid region. They are capable of establishingsaid gene as a stable genetic element replicating independently of theremaining genome in a species or a cell line over several generations orcell divisions. Vectors are, in particular when used in bacteria,special plasmids, i.e. circular genetic elements. Genetic engineeringdistinguishes between, on the one hand, those vectors which are used forstorage and thus, to a certain extent, also for genetic engineeringwork, the “cloning vectors”, and, on the other hand, those which performthe function of establishing the gene of interest in the host cell, i.e.enabling expression of the protein in question. These vectors arereferred to as expression vectors.

Both bacterial cells and eukaryotic cells comprising said vectors are,irrespective of their differences, referred to generally as cells. Cellswhich comprise a vector, in particular an expression vector, and canthus be induced to express a transgene are referred to as host cellsbecause they harbor the relevant genetic system.

Homologization is the comparison of a nucleic acid or amino acidsequence with that of known genes or proteins. It is undertaken forexample via an alignment. The measure of the homology is a percentage ofidentity, as can be determined for example by the method indicated by D.J. Lipman and W. R. Pearson in Science 227 (1985), pages 1435-1441. Thisinformation may refer to the complete protein or to the region to beassigned in each case. A broader concept of homology, the similarity,also includes conserved variations, i.e. amino acids with similarchemical activity, in consideration because they usually carry outsimilar chemical activities within the protein. In the case of nucleicacids, only the percentage of identity is known.

It is possible by homologization to infer the functions of individualsequence regions, and the enzymatic activity of the complete enzymeunder consideration, from the amino acid or nucleotide sequence.Homologous regions of different proteins are those having comparablefunctions which can be recognized by identity or conserved exchanges inthe primary amino acid sequence. They include single amino acids, verysmall regions, called boxes, which are a few amino acids long, up tolong regions in the primary amino acid sequence. Thus, the functions ofthe homologous regions are also to be understood to include very minorpartial functions of the function carried out by the complete protein,such as, for example, the formation of individual hydrogen bonds orcomplexation of a substrate or transition complex. Other regions of theprotein which are not involved in the actual enzymatic reaction maymodify them qualitatively or quantitatively. This concerns, for example,enzyme stability, activity, reaction conditions or substratespecificity.

The term proteolytic enzyme or protease therefore means, in addition tothe functions of the few amino acid residues of the catalytically activesite, any functions as resulting from the action of the entire remainingprotein or one or more parts of the remaining protein on the actuallycatalytically active regions. In accordance with the invention, suchmodifying functions or part activities alone are also regarded asproteolytic activity, as long as they support a proteolytic reaction.Such auxiliary functions or part activities include, for example,binding of a substrate, an intermediate or an end product, theactivation or inhibition or mediation of a regulating influence on thehydrolytic activity. Another possible example is the formation of astructural element located far away from the active site. The secondprecondition for the fact that it is, according to the invention, aproteolytic protein, however, is that the chemical behavior of theactually active residues alone or, in addition, the action of themodifying parts results in a hydrolysis of peptide bonds. It isfurthermore possible that one or more parts of, for example, the proteinof the invention also modify qualitatively or quantitatively theactivities of other proteases. This influencing of other factors islikewise regarded as proteolytic activity. Proteolytically activeenzymes are also those proteases whose activity at a given point in timeis blocked, for example by an inhibitor. Their principle suitability forthe corresponding proteolytic reaction is crucial.

Fragments mean any proteins or peptides which are smaller than naturalproteins or those which correspond to completely translated genes, andmay also be obtained synthetically, for example. Owing to their aminoacid sequences, they may be related to the corresponding completeproteins. They may adopt, for example, identical structures or exertproteolytic activities or part activities. Fragments and deletionvariants of starting proteins are very similar in principle; whilefragments represent rather relatively small pieces, the deletion mutantsrather lack only short regions and thus only individual partialfunctions.

Chimeric or hybrid proteins mean in accordance with the presentapplication those proteins which are composed of elements whichnaturally originate from different polypeptide chains from the sameorganism or from different organisms. This procedure is also calledshuffling or fusion mutagenesis. The purpose of such a fusion is, forexample, to cause or to modify an enzymic function with the aid of thefused-to protein part of the invention.

Proteins obtained by insertion mutation mean those variants which havebeen obtained via methods known per se by inserting a nucleic acidfragment or protein fragment into the starting sequences. They should beclassified as chimeric proteins, due to their similarity in principle.They differ from the latter merely in the size ratio of the unalteredprotein part to the size of the entire protein. The proportion offoreign protein in such insertion-mutated proteins is lower than inchimeric proteins.

Inversion mutagenesis, i.e. a partial sequence conversion, may beregarded as a special form of both deletion and insertion. The sameapplies to a regrouping of various molecule parts, which deviates fromthe original amino acid sequence. Said regrouping can be regarded asdeletion variant, as insertion variant and also as shuffling variant ofthe original protein.

Derivatives mean in accordance with the present application thoseproteins whose pure amino acid chain has been chemically modified. Thosederivatizations may be carried out, for example, biologically inconnection with protein biosynthesis by the host organism.Molecular-biological methods may be employed here, for example, such asthe cotransformation with genes which ensure the relevant modification.However, derivatizations may also be carried out chemically, for exampleby chemical conversion of an amino acid side chain or by covalentbinding of another compound to the protein. Such a compound may also be,for example, other proteins which are bound, for example, viabifunctional chemical compounds to proteins of the invention.Modifications of this kind influence, for example, substrate specificityor strength of binding to the substrate or cause transient blocking ofthe enzymic activity if the coupled-to substance is an inhibitor. Thisis useful for the period of storage, for example. Likewise,derivatization means covalent binding to a macromolecular support.

In accordance with the present invention, all enzymes, proteins,fragments, fusion proteins and derivatives, unless they need to beexplicitly referred to as such, are included under the generic termproteins.

The performance of an enzyme means its efficacy in the technical areaconsidered in each case, preferably within the scope of acorrespondingly directed product. Said performance is based on theactual enzymic activity but, in addition, depends on further factorsrelevant to the particular process. These include, for example,stability, substrate binding, interaction with the material supportingthe substrate or interactions with other ingredients, in particularsynergies.

The washing or cleaning performance of a washing or cleaning productmeans in accordance with the present application the effect exerted bythe product studied on the soiled articles, for example textiles orobjects with hard surfaces. Individual components of such products, forexample individual enzymes, are evaluated with respect to theircontribution to the washing or cleaning performance of the entirewashing or cleaning product, for it is not readily possible to deducethe contribution of an enzyme to the washing performance of a productfrom the enzymic properties of said enzyme. Examples of other factorswhich play a part here are stability, substrate binding, binding to thematerial to be cleaned and interactions with other ingredients of thesaid washing or cleaning products, in particular synergies in removingthe soils.

The naturally produced alkaline protease of the subtilisin type on whichthe present invention is based is, as can be ascertained from theexamples, obtainable from the culture supernatant of the strain Bacillussp. (DSM 14392).

This strain was deposited in accordance with the Budapest Treaty on theInternational Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms of Apr. 28,1997 at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH,Mascheroder Weg 1b, 38124 Brunswick (http://www.dsmz.de) on Mar. 1,2001. Its designation there is ID 01-193 and the accession number is DSM14392. The standard information on the features of this biologicalmaterial, as determined on deposition by the DSMZ on Apr. 23, 2001, iscompiled in table 1 (example 1).

The present patent application followed the strategy of finding in anatural habitat a protease-producing microorganism and thus a naturallyproduced enzyme which satisfies as completely as possible the statedrequirements.

It was possible to find such an enzyme, as described in the examples ofthe present application, in the form of the alkaline protease fromBacillus sp. (DSM 14392).

As can be established, going beyond the biochemical characterizationundertaken by the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und ZellkulturenGmbH and indicated in Table 1 of example 1, this strain secretes aproteolytic activity. This has been investigated in accordance with theexemplary embodiments of the present application and can be described asfollows: it is, according to SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, a26 kD protein having an isoelectric point of 11 as determined byisoelectric focusing. The specific activity for the substrate AAPF is 9U/mg.

The nucleotide sequence of the novel alkaline protease from Bacillus sp.(DSM 14392) according to the invention is indicated in the sequencelisting of the present application under SEQ ID NO:1. It comprises 1125bp. The amino acid sequence derived therefrom is indicated in SEQ IDNO:2. It comprises 374 amino acids, followed by a stop codon. The first105 amino acids thereof are probably not present in the mature protein,so that the envisaged length of the mature protein is 269 amino acids.

As described in example 2, these sequences were compared with theprotease sequences obtainable from generally accessible databasesSwiss-Prot (Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) S.A., Geneva, Switzerland;http://www.genebio.com/sprot.html) and GenBank (National Center forBiotechnology Information NCBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,Md., USA).

By this means, at the DNA level, the following three genes wereidentified as the most similar for the complete gene: (1.) the alkalineelastase from Bacillus Ya-B (ID ELYA_BACSP) with (approximately) 98%identity, (2.) the subtilisin P92 from Bacillus alkalophilus (IDELYA_BACAO) with 69% identity and (3.) the subtilisin Sendai fromBacillus Sendai (ID Q45522) with 66% identity.

At the amino acid level, those identified as most similar for thecomplete preproprotein were: (1.) the alkaline elastase from BacillusYa-B (ID ELYA_BACSP) with (approximately) 98% identity, (2.) thesubtilisin P92 from Bacillus alkalophilus (ID ELYA_BACAO) with 80%identity and (3.) the subtilisin Sendai from Bacillus Sendai (ID Q45522)with 69% identity.

At the amino acid level, those identified as most similar for the matureprotein were: (1.) the alkaline elastase from Bacillus Ya-B (IDELYA_BACSP) with (approximately) 99% identity, which is to say with onlythree different amino acids within the coding region, (2.) the twosubtilisins P92 from Bacillus alkalophilus (ID ELYA_BACAO) andsubtilisin 309 (Savinase®) from Bacillus lentus (ID SUBS_BACLE) with ineach case 83% identity and (3.) the B. lentus alkaline protease fromBacillus lentus DSM 5483 (ID SUBB_BACLE) with 82% identity.

Further similar enzymes are listed in table 2 in example 2 and arecompared in the alignment in FIG. 1 in respect of the amino acidsequences of the mature proteins with the alkaline protease of theinvention from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392).

On the basis of the agreements to be identified and of the relationshipwith other indicated subtilisins, this alkaline protease is to beregarded as a subtilisin.

One subject matter of the present invention is thus every alkalineprotease of the subtilisin type having an amino acid sequence at least98.1% identical to the amino acid sequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:2.

Among these, increasingly preferred are those whose amino acid sequenceis at least in each case 98.2%, 98.3%, 98.4%, 98.5%, 98.6%, 98.7%,98.8%, 98.9%, 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%, 99.7%,99.8%, 99.9% and 100% identical to the amino acid sequence indicated inSEQ ID NO:2.

This is because it is to be expected that the properties thereof areincreasingly similar to those of the alkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM14392).

As already mentioned, on the basis of a comparison of the N-terminalsequences the amino acids 1 to 105 are presumably to be regarded asleader peptide, and the mature protein is envisaged to extend frompositions 106 to 374 according to SEQ ID NO:2. Position 375 isaccordingly occupied by a stop codon and thus actually does notcorrespond to an amino acid. However, since the information about theend of a coding region can be regarded as important component of anamino acid sequence, this position is included according to theinvention in the region corresponding to the mature protein.

One embodiment of this aspect of the invention is thus every alkalineprotease of the subtilisin type having an amino acid sequence which isat least 98.9% identical in positions 106 to 375 to the amino acidsequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:2.

Among these, increasingly preferred are those whose amino acid sequenceis at least in each case 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%,99.7%, 99.8%, 99.9% and 100% identical in positions 106 to 375 to theamino acid sequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:2.

Should it emerge, for example through a N-terminal sequencing of theproteolytic protein released in vivo by Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392), thatthe cleavage site is located not between the 105th and the 106th aminoacid according to SEQ ID NO:2, but elsewhere, in this case thesestatements relate to the actual mature protein.

One embodiment of this aspect of the invention is every alkalineprotease of the subtilisin type which is derived from a nucleotidesequence which is at least 98.1% identical to the nucleotide sequenceindicated in SEQ ID NO:1, in particular over the part regioncorresponding to positions 106 to 375 in SEQ ID NO:2.

Among these, increasingly preferred are those derived from a nucleotidesequence which is at least in each case 98.2%, 98.3%, 98.4%, 98.5%,98.6%, 98.7%, 98.8%, 98.9% 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%,99.6%, 99.7%, 99.8%, 99.9% and 100% identical to the nucleotide sequenceindicated in SEQ ID NO:1, in particular over the part regioncorresponding to positions 106 to 375 according to SEQ ID NO:2.

This is because it is to be expected that these nucleic acids code forproteins whose properties are increasingly similar to those of thealkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392), in particular the matureprotein. In this case too, as for all following embodiments, it is againtrue that these statements relate to the actual mature protein should itemerge that the cleavage site of the protein is located elsewhere thanindicated above.

The most preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention is everyalkaline protease of the subtilisin type whose amino acid sequence isidentical to the amino acid sequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:2 overall,preferably in positions 106 to 375, and/or whose amino acid sequence isidentical to an amino acid sequence derived from the nucleotide sequenceindicated in SEQ ID NO:1 in total, preferably in positions 106 to 375.

This is because such a one constitutes the newly found alkaline proteasefrom Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) which is made available with the presentapplication.

This protease is as yet unknown in the prior art. It can be isolated,produced and employed as indicated in the examples. It is additionallydistinguished, as likewise documented in the examples, on use in anappropriate product by approaching or even in some cases exceeding theperformance of the enzymes established for this purpose.

It can, as an enzyme naturally produced microbially, serve as startingpoint for the development of industrial proteases which can be employedin particular in washing products, in order to be optimized for thedesired use by mutagenesis methods known per se, for example pointmutagenesis, fragmentation, deletion, insertion or fusion with otherproteins or protein portions or by other modifications. Suchoptimizations may be, for example, adaptations to the effects oftemperature, pH variations, redox conditions and/or other influenceswhich are relevant to the technical areas of use. Examples of desiderataare an improvement in the resistance to oxidation, in the stabilitytowards denaturing agents or proteolytic degradation, towards hightemperatures, acidic or strongly alkaline conditions, a change in thesensitivity towards calcium ions or other cofactors, and a reduction inthe immunogenicity or allergenic effect.

It is possible for this purpose to alter for example, applying theteaching of WO 00/36069, by targeted point mutations the surface chargesor the loops involved in catalysis or substrate binding. The latter isdisclosed for example in WO 95/30011, WO 99/27082, WO 00/37599, WO00/37621 to WO 00/37627 and WO 00/71683 to WO 00/71691. Furthermodifications to be introduced in particular by genetic engineeringmethods can be carried out for example applying the teachings of theapplications WO 92/21760 and WO 95/23221. A starting point for this isthe alignment depicted in FIG. 1 of the present application. This makesit possible for positions of interest, which are described in saidapplications, for the protease from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) to beinferred from the known enzymes and to be varied appropriately bymethods known per se.

The mutagenesis methods are based on the relevant nucleotide sequencewhich is indicated in SEQ ID NO:1, or nucleotide sequences which aresufficiently similar thereto and which are described hereinbelow as aseparate subject matter of the present invention. Appropriate molecularbiology methods are described in the prior art, for example in manualssuch as that of Fritsch, Sambrook and Maniatis “Molecular cloning: alaboratory manual”, Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory Press, New York,1989.

In particularly preferred embodiments, point mutations lead toimprovements in the performance of corresponding proteases, inparticular to an improvement in their contribution to the washing orcleaning performance of corresponding products. The examples of thepresent application show that the protein of the invention from B. sp.(DSM 14392) displays performances which are in some cases better thanthe Savinase® enzymes and the B. lentus alkaline protease.

As can be inferred from the alignment in FIG. 1, the protease from B.sp. (DSM 14392) differs from the alkaline elastase from Bacillus Ya-B,not described until now for use in washing or cleaning products, inthree positions: in position 1 (according to the amino acid numbering ofthe protease of the invention, as in SEQ ID NO:1) it has an M; inposition 65 an H instead of a Q; and in position 182 an S instead of aT. Thus, particular preference is given to proteases lying within thescope of protection indicated above which have one or more of the aminoacid positions corresponding to the protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392).

Further embodiments of the present invention are all proteins orfragments derived from an alkaline protease of the invention, describedabove, of the subtilisin type by fragmentation or deletion mutagenesisand having increasingly preferably at least 120, 130, 140, 150, 160,170, 180, 190, 200, 225, 230, 235, 240, 245, 250, 260, 265, 270, 275,280, 285, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 343, 350 and 360 amino acidswhich are already connected in the starting molecule and are located atthe start, internally or at the end of the starting amino acid sequence,or those with increasingly preferably 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75,80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200,220, 240, 260, 280, 300, 320, 340, 343 and 360 amino acids which arealready connected in the starting molecule and which include positions1, 65 and/or 182 according to the amino acid numbering in SEQ ID NO:1.

It is evident from the alignment in FIG. 1 that the amino acid sequenceof the mature protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392) is identical frompositions 2 to 66, 68 to 187 and 189 to 275 according to the numberingof the alignment to that of the alkaline elastase from Bacillus Ya-B.Proteins or fragments of the invention which are derived byfragmentation or deletion mutagenesis accordingly have relatively largeregions which are not identical to known proteases, or those which havethe amino acids M, H and/or S suitable for differentiation in thepositions 1, 65 or 182 according to the numbering of the amino acidsequence in SEQ ID NO:1. For this purpose, the latter must, as isevident from the comparison with subtilisin P92 from Bacillusalaklophilus (ELYA_BACAO), be at least 40 amino acids long. This isbecause this most similar protease, which likewise has an S at position188 in the numbering of the alignment, is in this region identical overa total of 36 positions to the protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392).

Said fragments and/or deletion variants are preferably those whichcorrespond to the region of amino acids 106 to 375 according to SEQ IDNO:2, that is to say the mature protein.

These are increasingly preferably in each case proteins or fragmentsderived by fragmentation or deletion mutagenesis which are at least ineach case 98.9%, 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%, 99.7%,99.8%, 99.9% and 100% identical to the homologous sequences indicated inSEQ ID NO:2.

Fragments of the invention mean all proteins or peptides which aresmaller than the homologous proteins which correspond to those of SEQ IDNO:1 or SEQ ID NO:2 but conform with them in the appropriate partialsequences. These fragments may be for example single domains or segmentswhich do not conform with the domains. Such fragments may be producibleat lower cost, no longer have certain possibly disadvantageouscharacteristics of the starting molecule such as, possibly, anactivity-lowering regulatory mechanism, or display a more favorableprofile of activity. Such protein fragments can also be producednon-biosynthetically but, for example, chemically. Chemical synthesis isadvantageous for example when chemical modifications are to beundertaken following the synthesis.

Proteins obtainable by deletion mutation are also to be assigned to thefragments because they are analogous in principle. Deletion mutagenesisis particularly worthwhile for deleting inhibiting regions. The resultof deletions may be associated both with a specialization and with anextension of the range of application of the protein.

Proteins obtainable from preproteins by elimination of the N-terminalamino acids, and signal peptides can also be regarded as naturallyformed fragments or deletion-mutated proteins. Such a cleavage mechanismcan be used for example to specify, with the aid of particular sequenceregions which are recognized by signal peptidases, specific cleavagesites in recombinant proteins. It is thus possible to carry out in vitroactivation and/or deactivation of proteins of the invention.

Further embodiments of the present invention are all proteins derivedfrom an alkaline protease of the invention, described above, of thesubtilisin type or a corresponding fragment by insertion mutagenesis, bysubstitution mutagenesis and/or by fusion with at least one otherprotein or protein fragment.

Chimeric proteins of the invention display proteolytic activity in thewidest sense. This may be exercised or modified by a molecule partderived from a protein of the invention. The chimeric proteins may thusalso be located over their entire length outside the region claimedabove. The point of such a fusion is, for example, to introduce or tomodify a particular function or part function with the aid of thefused-on protein part of the invention. It is in this connectionimmaterial for the purposes of the present invention whether such achimeric protein consists of a single polypeptide chain or a pluralityof subunits. To implement the last-mentioned alternative it is possible,for example, to break down a single chimeric polypeptide chain into aplurality thereof by a specific proteolytic cleavagepost-translationally or only after a purification step.

Thus, for example, it is possible, based on WO 99/57254, to provide aprotein of the invention or parts thereof via peptide linkers ordirectly as fusion protein with binding domains from other proteins, forexample the cellulose binding domain, and thus to make hydrolysis of thesubstrate more efficient. Such a binding domain might also originatefrom a protease, for example in order to enhance the binding of theprotein of the invention to a protease substrate. This increases thelocal protease concentration, which may be advantageous in individualapplications, for example in the treatment of raw materials. It islikewise possible for proteins of the invention also to be linked forexample to amylases or cellulases in order to exercise a dual function.

The proteins of the invention which are obtainable by insertion mutationare, because they are analogous in principle, to be assigned to thechimeric proteins of the invention. These also include substitutionvariants, that is to say those in which individual regions of themolecule have been replaced by elements from other proteins.

The point of insertion and substitution mutagenesis is, as in the caseof hybrid formation, to combine individual properties, functions or partfunctions of proteins of the invention with those of other proteins.This also includes for example variants to be obtained by shuffling orrecombination of partial sequences from different proteases. It ispossible in this way to obtain proteins which have not previously beendescribed. Such techniques permit effects ranging from drastic to verysubtle modulations of activity.

Such mutations are preferably carried out by a random method to beassigned to the area of directed evolution, such as, for example, by theStEP method (Zhao et al. (1998), Nat. Biotechnol., Volume 16, pp.258-261), the random priming recombination (Shao et al. (1998), NucleicAcids Res., Volume 26, pp. 681-683), the DNA shuffling (Stemmer, W. P.C. (1994), Nature, Volume 370, pp. 389-391) or recursive sequencerecombination (RSR; WO 98/27230, WO 97/20078, WO 95/22625) or theRACHITT method (Coco, W. M. et al. (2001), Nat. Biotechnol., Volume 19,pp. 354-359). Methods of these types are expediently coupled to aselection or screening method following the mutagenesis and expression,in order to identify variants having the desired properties. Since thesetechniques apply at the DNA level, the newly produced genes relevant ineach case provide the starting point for biotechnological production.

Inversion mutagenesis, i.e. a partial sequence reversal, can be regardedas a special form both of deletion and of insertion. Variants of thistype can likewise be produced in targeted fashion or randomly.

Preference is given to all proteins, protein fragments or fusionproteins mentioned to date which are characterized in that they are ableper se to hydrolyze protein.

Such entities are categorized according to the official EnzymeNomenclature 1992 of the IUBMB under 3.4 (peptidases). Among these,preference is given to endopeptidases, particularly of the groups 3.4.21serine proteinases, 3.4.22 cysteine proteinases, 3.4.23 aspartateproteinases and 3.4.24 metallo proteinases. Of these, serine proteinases(3.4.21) are particularly preferred, and among these subtilases and,among these, very particularly subtilisins (compare “Subtilases:Subtilisin-like proteases” by R. Siezen, pages 75-95 in “Subtilisinenzymes”, edited by R. Bott and C. Betzel, New York, 1996). Among thesein turn, preference is given to subtilisins of group IS-2, the highlyalkaline subtilisins.

In this connection, active molecules are preferred to inactive ones,because in particular the proteolysis which is performed is importantfor example in the areas of use detailed below.

The fragments mentioned above also have a proteolytic activity in thewidest sense, for example for complexation of a substrate or forformation of a structural element necessary for the hydrolysis. They arepreferred when they can themselves be employed for the hydrolysis ofanother protein without the need for further protease components to bepresent. This relates to the activity which can be performed by aprotease per se; the presence, which may be necessary at the same time,of buffer substances, cofactors, etc. remains unaffected by this.

An interplay of different parts of the molecule for the hydrolysis ofproteins naturally exists more in deletion mutants than in fragments andemerges especially in fusion proteins, very particularly those derivedfrom shuffling of related proteins. Where this results in maintenance,modification, specification or else first attainment of a proteolyticfunction in the widest sense, the deletion variants and the fusionproteins are proteins of the invention. Preferred representatives ofthis aspect of the invention among these are those able per se tohydrolyze a protein substrate without the need for further proteasecomponents to be present.

A preferred embodiment is represented by all proteins, protein fragmentsor fusion proteins mentioned to date which are characterized in thatthey are additionally derivatized.

Derivatives mean those proteins which are derived from the mentionedproteins by an additional modification. Such modifications may affect,for example, the stability, substrate specificity or the bindingstrength to the substrate or the enzymatic activity. They can also beused to reduce the allergenicity and/or immunogenicity of the proteinand thus to increase for example its compatibility with skin.

Such derivatizations can for example take place biologically, forexample in connection with the protein biosynthesis by the producinghost organism. Couplings of lower molecular weight compounds such aslipids or oligosaccharides should be particularly emphasized in thisconnection.

Derivatizations may, however, also be carried out chemically, forexample by chemical transformation of a side chain or by covalentbonding of another, for example macromolecular compound to the protein.A chemical modification is described for example in the application DE4013142. The coupling of amines to carboxyl groups of an enzyme to alterthe isoelectric point for example is disclosed in WO 95/26398. It ispossible for example to link macromolecules such as proteins, forexample via bifunctional chemical compounds, to proteins of theinvention. Thus, for example, it is possible by applying the teaching ofWO 99/57154 to WO 99/57159, WO 00/18865 and WO 00/57155 to provide aprotein of the invention via a linker with a specific binding domain.Such derivatives are particularly suitable for use in washing orcleaning products. It is also possible in analogy to WO 00/01831 to linkprotease inhibitors to the proteins of the invention via linkers, inparticular amino acid linkers. Couplings with other macromolecularcompounds such as, for example, polyethylene glycol improve the moleculein relation to further properties such as stability or compatibilitywith skin. Such a modification is described for example in U.S. Pat. No.5,230,891 for proteases for use in cosmetics.

Derivatives of proteins of the invention may also mean preparations ofthese enzymes in the widest sense. Depending on the isolation,processing or preparation, a protein may be associated with variousother substances, for example from the culture of the producingmicroorganisms. A protein may also have been mixed deliberately withcertain other substances, for example to increase its storage stability.The invention therefore also relates to all preparations of a protein ofthe invention. This is also independent of whether this enzymaticactivity is in fact displayed in a particular preparation or not. Thisis because it may be desired for it to have only little, or no, activityduring storage and to display its proteolytic function only at the timeof use. This can be controlled for example via appropriate accompanyingsubstances. Joint preparation of proteases with protease inhibitors inparticular is known in the prior art (WO 00/01826).

A preferred embodiment is represented by all proteins, protein fragmentsor fusion proteins mentioned to date which are characterized in thatthey are additionally stabilized.

This increases their stability during storage and/or during use, forexample during the washing process, so that their activity persistslonger and is thus enhanced. The stability of proteases of the inventionmay be increased by coupling to polymers, for example. A method of thiskind is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,891, for example. It requireslinking the proteins, prior to their use in appropriate agents, via achemical coupling step to such polymers.

Preference is given to stabilizations possible via point mutagenesis ofthe molecule itself, since they do not require any further working stepsfollowing obtainment of the protein. Some point mutations suitable forthis are known per se from the prior art. Thus, according to U.S. Pat.No. 6,087,315 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,884, proteases may be stabilizedby replacing particular tyrosine residues with other residues.

Other possibilities are, for example:

-   -   replacing particular amino acid residues with proline, according        to EP 583339;    -   introducing more polar or more highly charged groups on the        surface of the molecule, according to EP 995801;    -   altering the binding of metal ions, in particular the calcium        binding sites, for example according to the teaching of the        applications WO 88/08028 and WO 88/08033.

According to the first of these documents, one or more of the amino acidresidues involved in calcium binding would have to be replaced withnegatively charged amino acids; according to the teaching of theapplication WO 88/08033, point mutations would have to be introducedsimultaneously in at least one of the sequences of the two residuesarginine/glycine for stabilization via calcium binding;

-   -   according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,372, proteins may be protected        by particular mutations on the surface against the effect of        denaturating agents such as surfactants.

Further comparable possibilities are indicated in U.S. Pat. No.5,340,735, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,364, U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,639 and U.S.Pat. No. 6,136,553.

Another possibility for stabilization towards elevated temperature andthe effect of surfactants would be, applying the teaching of WO 92/21760and the as yet unpublished applications DE 10121463 and DE 10153792,stabilization by exchange of amino acids located near the N terminus forthose which make contact, via non-covalent interactions, with theremainder of the molecule and thus make a contribution to maintainingthe globular structure.

Preferred embodiments are those in which the molecule is stabilized in aplurality of ways. This is because, for example according to WO89/09819, an additive effect can be assumed with a plurality ofstabilizing mutations.

A preferred embodiment is represented by all proteins, proteinfragments, fusion proteins or derivatives which are characterized inthat they have at least one antigenic determinant in common with one ofthe proteins, protein fragments, fusion proteins or derivatives of theinvention which are described above.

This is because the secondary structural elements of a protein and itsthree-dimensional folding are crucial for the enzymatic activity. Thus,domains which differ distinctly from one another in their primarystructure may form structures which are substantially spatiallycoincident and thus make identical enzymatic behavior possible. Suchcommon features in the secondary structure are normally recognized asconforming antigenic determinants by antisera or pure or monoclonalantibodies. Proteins or derivatives which are similar to one another canthus be detected and assigned by immunochemical cross-reactions. Forthis reason, proteins which possibly cannot from their levels ofhomology in the primary structure, but can from their immunochemicalrelationship, be assigned to the proteins, protein fragments, fusionproteins or derivatives of the invention which are defined above arealso in particular included in the scope of protection of the presentinvention.

A preferred embodiment is represented by all the proteins, proteinfragments, fusion proteins or derivatives mentioned to date which arecharacterized in that they are obtainable from a natural source, inparticular from a microorganism.

These may be, for example, unicellular fungi or bacteria. This isbecause they can usually be isolated and handled more easily thanmulticellular organisms or the cell cultures derived from multicellularorganisms; although the latter may represent worthwhile options forspecific embodiments and are thus not in principle excluded from thesubject matter of the invention.

It is possible that although naturally occurring producers are able toproduce an enzyme of the invention, the latter is expressed and/orreleased into the surrounding medium to only a small extent under theconditions initially established. However, this does not preclude thepossibility of stimulating them to economically worthwhile production ofthe protein of the invention under the influence of suitableenvironmental conditions or other factors which can be establishedexperimentally. Such a regulatory mechanism can be employed deliberatelyfor biotechnological production. If the latter is also impossible, theycan still be used to isolate the relevant gene.

Among these, those from gram-positive bacteria are particularlypreferred.

This is because they have no outer membrane and thus release secretedproteins directly into the surrounding medium.

Those from gram-positive bacteria of the genus bacillus are veryparticularly preferred.

Bacillus proteases have from the outset favorable properties for variouspossible technical uses. These include a certain stability to increasedtemperature, oxidizing or denaturing agents. Moreover, most experiencehas been obtained with microbial proteases with respect to theirbiotechnological production, concerning, for example, the constructionof suitable cloning vectors, the selection of host cells and growthconditions or the evaluation of risks such as allergenicity, forexample. Bacilli are moreover established as producer organisms withparticularly high production efficiency in industrial processes. Theamount of knowledge obtained for preparation and use of these proteasesbenefits, in addition, further inventive developments of these enzymes,relating, for example, to their compatibility with other chemicalcompounds such as ingredients of washing or cleaning products, forexample.

Among those from the bacillus species, in turn, preference is given tothose from the species Bacillus sp., in particular from the strainBacillus sp. (DSM 14392).

This is because the embodiment of the enzyme of the invention wasoriginally obtained therefrom. Its relevant sequences are indicated inthe sequence listing, and its enzymatic characteristics are described inthe examples. It is possible to prepare from this or from relatedstrains the variants described above in particular by applyingmolecular-biological standard methods such as, for example, PCR and/orpoint mutagenesis methods known per se.

A further achievement of the object, and thus an inherent aspect of theinvention is represented by the nucleic acids which serve to implementthe invention.

Nucleic acids are the starting point for virtually allmolecular-biological studies and developments of proteins and productionthereof, including, in particular, sequencing of genes and derivation ofthe corresponding amino acid sequence, any kind of mutagenesis (seeabove) and expression of the proteins.

Mutagenesis for developing proteins having particular properties is alsoreferred to as “protein engineering”. Examples of properties to beoptimized have been mentioned hereinbefore. Such a mutagenesis can becarried out in targeted fashion or by random methods, for example with asubsequent identification and/or selection method directed at theactivity (screening and selection) on the cloned genes, for example byhybridization with nucleic acid probes, or on the gene products, theproteins, for example via their activity. Further development of theproteases of the invention may also be oriented in particular on theideas presented in the publication “Protein engineering” by P. N. Bryan(2000) in Biochim. Biophys. Acta., Volume 1543, pages 203-222.

One subject matter of the present invention is thus every nucleic acidcoding for an alkaline protease of the subtilisin type, whose nucleotidesequence is at least 98.1% identical, especially over the part regionwhich corresponds to positions 316 to 1125, to the nucleotide sequenceindicated in SEQ ID NO:1.

Among these, increasingly preferred are those whose nucleotide sequenceis at least in each case 98.2%, 98.2%, 98.3%, 98.4%, 98.5%, 98.6%,98.7%, 98.8%, 98.9%, 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%,99.7%, 99.8%, 99.9% and 100% identical, in particular over the partregion which corresponds to positions 316 to 1125, to the nucleotidesequence indicated in SEQ ID NO:1. What has been stated above appliescorrespondingly to the positions of the mature protein and the stopcodon.

This is because it is to be expected that these nucleic acids code forproteins whose properties are increasingly similar to those of thealkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392).

Further representatives of this aspect of the invention are all nucleicacids which code for one of the proteins, protein fragments, fusionproteins or derivatives of the invention which are described above.

The nucleic acids which code for the preferred forms mentioned above arecorrespondingly preferred, especially also the nucleic acids obtained bymutagenesis.

In particular, the nucleic acids which code for protein fragments areexpressly included in the scope of protection of the present invention.With such oligonucleotides, all three reading frames, both in the senseand in the antisense orientation, must be taken into account. This isbecause they can be used, in particular via the polymerase chainreaction (PCR), as starting points for the synthesis of related nucleicacids, for example for the amplification of related genes from naturalorganisms. They may also be used to produce chimeras by a PCR-basedshuffling method. Other shuffling methods such as, for example, therecombining ligation reaction (RLR) disclosed in the application WO00/09679 are also based on oligonucleotides which correspond to randomlyor specifically selected protein fragments. Antisense oligonucleotidesmay also be employed for example for regulating expression.

In accordance with the statements made above, among the nucleic acids ofthe invention which have been described above the following areincreasingly preferred:

-   -   those characterized in that they are obtainable from a natural        source, in particular from a microorganism;    -   among these, those which are characterized in that the        microorganism is a gram-positive bacterium;    -   among these, those which are characterized in that the        gram-positive bacterium is one of the genus bacillus; and    -   among these, those which are characterized in that the bacillus        species is Bacillus sp., in particular Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392).

Vectors comprising one of the nucleic acid regions of the inventiondefined above, in particular one which codes for one of the proteins,protein fragments, fusion proteins or derivatives of the invention whichare defined above, form an inherent aspect of the invention.

In order to handle the nucleic acids relevant to the invention, andthus, in particular, to prepare for production of proteins of theinvention, they are conveniently ligated into vectors. Such vectors andthe relevant methods of working are described in detail in the priorart. Vectors are commercially available in large number and range ofvariation, both for cloning and for expression. These include, forexample, vectors derived from bacterial plasmids, from bacteriophages orfrom viruses, or predominantly synthetic vectors. In addition, they aredifferentiated according to the nature of the cell types in which theyare able to establish themselves, for example into vectors forgram-negative, for gram-positive bacteria, for yeasts or for highereukaryotes. They are suitable starting points, for example, formolecular-biological and biochemical studies, and also for expression ofthe gene in question or of the corresponding protein.

In one embodiment, vectors of the invention are cloning vectors.

Cloning vectors are, in addition to storage, biological amplification orselection of the gene of interest, suitable for its molecular-biologicalcharacterization. At the same time, they are transportable and storableforms of the claimed nucleic acids and are also starting points formolecular-biological techniques not linked to cells, such as PCR orin-vitro mutagenesis methods, for example.

Preferably, vectors of the invention are expression vectors.

Expression vectors of this kind are the basis for implementing thecorresponding nucleic acids in biological production systems and therebyproducing the corresponding proteins. Preferred embodiments of thissubject matter of the invention are expression vectors which carry thegenetic elements necessary for expression, for example the naturalpromoter originally located upstream of said gene or a promoter fromanother organism. Said elements may be arranged, for example, the formof an “expression cassette”. An alternative possibility is for one orall of the regulatory elements also to be provided by the host cell ineach case. The expression vectors are particularly preferably adapted inrelation to further properties such as, for example, the optimal copynumber to the chosen expression system, in particular the host cell (seebelow).

For a high expression rate it is additionally advantageous for theexpression vector where possible to comprise only the relevant gene asinsert and no relatively large 5′ or 3′ noncoding regions. Such insertsare obtained for example when the fragment obtained after randomtreatment of the chromosomal DNA of the starting strain with arestriction enzyme has been cut deliberately once again after thesequencing and before integration into the expression vector.

One example of an expression vector is pAWA22 which is depicted in FIG.2 of the present application and can be employed as disclosed in example2. Further vectors are available to the skilled worker from the priorart and are commercially available in large numbers.

Cells which comprise one of the nucleic acid regions of the inventionwhich are defined above, in particular one which codes for one of theproteins, protein fragments, fusion proteins or derivatives of theinvention which are defined above, preferably on one of the vectors ofthe invention which are defined above, form an inherent aspect of theinvention.

This is because these cells contain the genetic information for thesynthesis of a protein of the invention. They make it possible, forexample, for the corresponding genes to be amplified, but also to bemutagenized or transcribed and translated and eventually for therelevant proteins to be produced biotechnologically. This geneticinformation can be present either extrachromosomally as inherent geneticelement, i.e. in bacteria located on a plasmid, or be integrated into achromosome. The choice of a suitable system depends on objectives, suchas, for example, the mode and duration of storage of the gene or of theorganism, or the mode of mutagenesis or selection. Thus, mutagenesis andselection methods based for example on bacteriophages—and the specifichost cells thereof—are described for the development of enzymes forwashing products in the prior art (WO 97/09446).

Preference is given here to host cells which express or can be inducedto express any of the proteins, protein fragments, fusion proteins orderivatives of the invention which are described above, in particular byusing any of the nucleic acid regions of the invention which are definedabove, very particularly by using an expression vector defined above.

The host cells producing said proteins make possible thebiotechnological production thereof. For this purpose, they must havereceived the gene in question, conveniently with one of the vectorsdescribed above, and be capable of its transcription, translation andpreferably the possibly additional modification steps.

Suitable host cells for protein expression are in principle allorganisms, i.e. prokaryotes, eukaryotes or Cyanophyta. Preference isgiven to those host cells which are easily manageable genetically, withrespect to, for example, transformation with the expression vector or toits stable establishment and to the regulation of expression, forexample unicellular fungi or bacteria. Moreover, preferred host cellsare distinguished by good microbiological and biotechnologicalmanageability. This relates, for example, to easy culturability, highgrowth rates, low demands on fermentation media and good rates ofproduction and secretion of foreign proteins. Laboratory strains aimedat expression are preferably chosen. Such strains are availablecommercially or from generally accessible strain collections. In thisway, any protein of the invention can be obtained theoretically from amultiplicity of host organisms. It is necessary to determineexperimentally the expression systems optimal for the individual casefrom the abundance of different systems available according to the priorart.

Host cells which are themselves protease-negative, and thus do notdegrade produced proteins, are particularly advantageous. One such isthe strain Bacillus subtilis DB 104 used in example 2.

Preferred embodiments are those host cells whose activity can beregulated owing to appropriate genetic elements, for example bycontrolled addition of chemical compounds, by changing the culturingconditions or as a function of the particular cell density. Thiscontrollable expression makes possible very economical production of theproteins of interest. Conveniently, gene, expression vector and hostcell match one another, with respect to the genetic elements requiredfor expression (ribosome-binding site, promoters, terminators) or tocodon usage, for example. The latter, for example, may be optimized byreplacing in the gene those codons which are translated only poorly bythe host in question with those more commonly used by the particularlyhost, with identical meaning in each case.

Preferred among these are host cells which are characterized in thatthey are bacteria, in particular those which secrete the proteinproduced into the surrounding medium.

Bacteria distinguish themselves by short generation times and lowdemands on the culturing conditions. This makes it possible to establishcost-effective methods. Moreover, a wealth of experience in bacterialfermentation techniques is available. For a large variety of reasons tobe determined experimentally in the individual case, such as nutrientsources, rate of product formation, time required, etc., Gram-negativeor Gram-positive bacteria may be suitable for a specific production.

Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli, for example, secrete amultiplicity of proteins into the periplasmic space. This may beadvantageous for special applications. In contrast, Gram-positivebacteria such as bacilli, for example, release secreted proteinsimmediately into the nutrient medium surrounding the cells, from whichthe expressed proteins of the invention can be purified directly,according to another preferred embodiment.

The application WO 01/81597 discloses a method according to which exportof the expressed proteins by Gram-negative bacteria is also achieved.Such a system is also suitable for producing proteins of the invention.Accordingly, preferred host cells are those of the species Escherichiacoli or Klebsiella, especially those of the strains E. coli JM 109, E.coli DH 100B, E. coli DH 12S or Klebsiella planticola (Rf). They requireappropriate microbiological modifications and/or suitable vectorsdescribed in this application to enable the produced proteins to bereleased.

Bacteria preferred as host cells are those characterized in that theyare gram-positive bacteria, in particular that they belong to the genusbacillus, very particularly to the species Bacillus lentus, Bacilluslicheniformis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus subtilis or Bacillusalcalophilus.

One embodiment of the present invention utilizes B. sp., in particularB. sp. (DSM 14392) itself, in order to (homologously) express proteinsof the invention. On the other hand, however, preference is given toheterologous expression for which bacteria of the genus Bacillus arepreferred, because they are the best characterized among Gram-positivebacteria, with respect to production. Included here are in particularthose of the species B. licheniformis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. subtilisor other species or strains of B. alcalophilus. This is because relevantexperience concerning protease production with these species isavailable, for example from the teaching of the application WO 91/02792.This application also discloses numerous possible expression vectors.These related species additionally have a similar codon usage andthemselves produce comparable subtilisins, so that the protein synthesissystem is naturally appropriately oriented.

Another advantage is the possibility of obtaining via this method amixture of proteins of the invention with the subtilisins endogenouslyproduced by the host strains. Such a coexpression is likewise disclosedin the application WO 91/02792. If it is unwanted, the protease genesnaturally present in the host cell would need to be permanently ortemporarily inactivated (see above).

Further preference is given to host cells characterized in that they areeukaryotic cells, in particular those which modify posttranslationallythe protein produced.

Examples of suitable eukaryotes are fungi such as actinomycetes oryeasts such as Saccharomyces or Kluyveromyces. Thermophilic fungalexpression systems are presented for example in WO 96/02653. They areparticularly suitable for expressing thermally resistant variants. Themodifications which eukaryotic systems carry out, in particular inconnection with protein synthesis, include binding of low molecularcompounds such as membrane anchors or oligosaccharides, for example.Oligosaccharide modifications of this kind may be desirable, forexample, for reducing allergenicity. Coexpression with the enzymesnaturally produced by such cells, such as, for example, cellulases mayalso be advantageous.

Methods for preparing a protein of the invention are a separate subjectmatter of the invention.

Thus, every method for producing a protein, protein fragment, fusionprotein or derivative of the invention described above using a nucleicacid of the invention described above and/or using a vector of theinvention described above and/or using one of the cells of the inventionwhich are described above is thus claimed.

These include for example chemical synthetic methods, which areeconomically worthwhile in particular for shorter fragments.

However, all molecular biological, microbiological or biotechnologicalproduction methods which have already been mentioned above in individualaspects and are established in the prior art are preferred to thelatter. Accordingly, it is possible for example on the basis of the DNAand amino acid sequences defined above, as can be deduced, for examplealso from the sequence listing, preferably on the basis of those fromSEQ ID NO:1 and 2 themselves, to synthesize correspondingoligonucleotides and oligopeptides up to the complete genes and proteinsaccording to molecular-biological methods known per se.

Starting from the known subtilisin-producing microorganisms, for examplefollowing the example in this application, it is also possible toidentify and isolate further natural subtilisin producers, to determinetheir subtilisin gene and/or amino acid sequences and to develop them,according to the conditions made herein. Bacterial species of this kindmay also be cultured for appropriate production methods. Analogously,novel expression vectors may be developed according to the model of thevectors disclosed in the application WO 91/02792. Cell-free expressionsystems in which protein biosynthesis is carried out in vitro may alsobe embodiments of the present invention, on the basis of thecorresponding nucleic acid sequences. Any elements already set forthabove may also be combined to give novel methods for preparing proteinsof the invention. In this connection, a multiplicity of possiblecombinations of the method steps for each protein of the invention isconceivable so that optimal methods must be determined experimentallyfor each specific individual case.

A separate subject matter of the invention comprises products which arecharacterized in that they comprise a protein, protein fragment, fusionprotein or derivative of the invention defined above.

All types of products, especially mixtures, formulations, solutions,etc. whose utilizability is improved by adding a protein of theinvention described above are hereby included in the scope of protectionof the present invention. Depending on the area of use, they may be, forexample, solid mixtures, for example powders with freeze-dried orencapsulated proteins, or gelatinous or liquid products. Preferredformulations comprise for example buffer substances, stabilizers,reactants and/or cofactors of the proteases and/or other ingredientssynergistic with the proteases. These are to be understood to include inparticular products for the areas of use detailed hereinafter. Furtherareas of use are evident from the prior art and are described forexample in the manual “Industrial enzymes and their applications” by H.Uhlig, published by Wiley, New York, 1998.

A preferred embodiment included in this subject matter of the inventionare washing or cleaning products which are characterized in that theycomprise one of the proteins, protein fragments, fusion proteins orderivatives of the invention which are described above.

This is because, as shown in the exemplary embodiments of the presentapplication, it has surprisingly been found that the particularlypreferred alkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392), that is to say eventhe wild-type enzyme, is distinguished in that on use in a correspondingwashing or cleaning product it at least approaches the enzymesestablished for this purpose in their contributions to the washing orcleaning performance, or in some cases in fact exceeds them.

This subject matter of the invention includes all conceivable types ofcleaning products, both concentrates and products to be applied inundiluted form; for use on the commercial scale, in the washing machineor for manual laundry or cleaning. They include, for example, washingproducts for textiles, carpets or natural fibers, for which the termwashing product is used in the present invention. They also include, forexample, dishwashing agents for dishwashers or manual dishwashing agentsor cleaners for hard surfaces such as metal, glass, porcelain, ceramic,tiles, stone, coated surfaces, plastics, wood or leather; for those, theterm cleaning product is used in the present invention. Any type ofwashing or cleaning product is an embodiment of the present invention,as long as a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention has been added to it.

Embodiments of the present invention comprise any presentation forms ofthe washing or cleaning products of the invention, which are establishedin the prior art and/or appropriate. They include, for example, solid,pulverulent, liquid, gel-like or paste-like agents, where appropriatealso composed of a plurality of phases, compressed or uncompressed;further examples include: extrudates, granules, tablets or pouches,packaged both in large containers and in portions.

In a preferred embodiment, the washing or cleaning products of theinvention comprise the proteins, protein fragments, fusion proteins orderivatives of the invention described above in an amount of from 2 μgto 160 mg, preferably from 5 μg to 140 mg, particularly preferably from20 μg to 120 mg, very particularly preferably from 50 μg to 80 mg, pergram of the product.

The protease activity in products of this kind may be determinedaccording to the method described in Tenside, Volume 7 (1970), pp.125-132 and is, accordingly, indicated in protease units(PE=Protease-Einheiten).

Apart from a protein, fragment, fusion protein or derivative of theinvention, a washing or cleaning product of the invention contains,where appropriate, further ingredients such as enzyme stabilizers,surfactants, for example nonionic, anionic and/or amphotericsurfactants, and/or bleaches, and/or builders, and, where appropriate,further conventional ingredients, which are listed below.

The nonionic surfactants used are preferably alkoxylated, advantageouslyethoxylated, in particular primary alcohols having preferably from 8 to18 carbon atoms and, on average, from 1 to 12 mol of ethylene oxide (EO)per mole of alcohol, in which the alcohol radical can be linear or,preferably, methyl-branched in the 2-position or can comprise linear andmethyl-branched radicals in a mixture as are customarily present in oxoalcohol radicals. Particular preference is, however, given to alcoholethoxylates containing linear radicals of alcohols of native originhaving from 12 to 18 carbon atoms, for example from coconut, palm,tallow fatty or oleyl alcohol, and, on average, from 2 to 8 EO per moleof alcohol. Preferred ethoxylated alcohols include, for example,C₁₂₋₁₄-alcohols having 3 EO or 4 EO, C₉₋₁₁-alcohol having 7 EO,C₁₃₋₁₅-alcohols having 3 EO, 5 EO, 7 EO or 8 EO, C₁₂₋₁₈-alcohols having3 EO, 5 EO or 7 EO, and mixtures of these, such as mixtures ofC₁₂₋₁₄-alcohol having 3 EO and C₁₂₋₁₈-alcohol having 5 EO. The degreesof ethoxylation given are statistical averages which may be an integeror a fraction for a specific product. Preferred alcohol ethoxylates havea narrowed homolog distribution (narrow range ethoxylates, NRE). Inaddition to these nonionic surfactants, fatty alcohols having more than12 EO can also be used. Examples thereof are tallow fatty alcohol having14 EO, 25 EO, 30 EO or 40 EO.

A further class of preferably used nonionic surfactants which are usedeither as the sole nonionic surfactant or in combination with othernonionic surfactants are alkoxylated, preferably ethoxylated orethoxylated and propoxylated, fatty acid alkyl esters, preferably havingfrom 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, in particular fatty acidmethyl esters.

A further class of nonionic surfactants which can advantageously be usedare the alkyl polyglycosides (APG). Alkyl polyglycosides which may beused satisfy the general formula RO(G)₂, in which R is a linear orbranched, in particular methyl-branched in the 2-position, saturated orunsaturated, aliphatic radical having from 8 to 22, preferably from 12to 18 carbon atoms, and G is the symbol which stands for a glycose unithaving 5 or 6 carbon atoms, preferably for glucose. The degree ofglycosylation z is here between 1.0 and 4.0, preferably between 1.0 and2.0 and in particular between 1.1 and 1.4. Preference is given to usinglinear alkyl polyglucosides, i.e. alkyl polyglycosides in which thepolyglycosyl radical is a glucose radical, and the alkyl radical is an-alkyl radical. [0183] Nonionic surfactants of the amine oxide type,for example N-cocoalkyl-N,N-dimethylamine oxide and N-tallowalkyl-N,N-dihydroxyethylamine oxide, and of the fatty acid alkanolamidesmay also be suitable. The proportion of these nonionic surfactants ispreferably no more than that of the ethoxylated fatty alcohols, inparticular no more than half thereof.

Further suitable surfactants are polyhydroxy fatty acid amides of theformula (II)

in which RCO is an aliphatic acyl radical having from 6 to 22 carbonatoms, R¹ is hydrogen, an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl radical having from 1 to4 carbon atoms and [Z] is a linear or branched polyhydroxyalkyl radicalhaving from 3 to 10 carbon atoms and from 3 to 10 hydroxyl groups. Thepolyhydroxy fatty acid amides are known substances which can usually beobtained by reductive amination of a reducing sugar with ammonia, analkylamine or an alkanolamine and subsequent acylation with a fattyacid, a fatty acid alkyl ester or a fatty acid chloride.

The group of polyhydroxy fatty acid amides also includes compounds ofthe formula (III)

in which R is a linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl radical having from7 to 12 carbon atoms, R¹ is a linear, branched or cyclic alkyl radicalor an aryl radical having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms, and R² is a linear,branched or cyclic alkyl radical or an aryl radical or an oxyalkylradical having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, where C₁₋₄-alkyl or phenylradicals are preferred, and [Z] is a linear polyhydroxyalkyl radicalwhose alkyl chain is substituted with at least two hydroxyl groups, oralkoxylated, preferably ethoxylated or propoxylated, derivatives of thisradical.

[Z] is preferably obtained by reductive amination of a reducing sugar,for example glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, galactose, mannose orxylose. The N-alkoxy- or N-aryloxy-substituted compounds may beconverted, for example, by reaction with fatty acid methyl esters in thepresence of an alkoxide as catalyst, into the desired polyhydroxy fattyacid amides.

The anionic surfactants used are, for example, those of the sulfonateand sulfate type. Suitable surfactants of the sulfonate type arepreferably C₉₋₁₃-alkylbenzenesulfonates, olefinsulfonates, i.e. mixturesof alkene- and hydroxyalkanesulfonates, and disulfonates, as obtained,for example, from C₁₂₋₁₈-monoolefins having a terminal or internaldouble bond by sulfonation with gaseous sulfur trioxide and subsequentalkaline or acidic hydrolysis of the sulfonation products. Also suitableare alkanesulfonates which are obtained from C₁₂₋₁₈-alkanes, forexample, by sulfochlorination or sulfoxidation with subsequenthydrolysis or neutralization. Likewise suitable are also the esters ofα-sulfo fatty acids (estersulfonates), for example the α-sulfonatedmethyl esters of hydrogenated coconut, palm kernel or tallow fattyacids.

Further suitable anionic surfactants are sulfated fatty acid glycerolesters. Fatty acid glycerol esters mean the mono-, di- and triesters,and mixtures thereof, as are obtained during the preparation byesterification of a monoglycerol with from 1 to 3 mol of fatty acid orduring the transesterification of triglycerides with from 0.3 to 2 molof glycerol. Preferred sulfated fatty acid glycerol esters are here thesulfation products of saturated fatty acids having from 6 to 22 carbonatoms, for example of caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, myristicacid, lauric acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid or behenic acid.

Preferred alk(en)yl sulfates are the alkali metal, and in particular thesodium, salts of sulfuric monoesters of C₁₂-C₁₈-fatty alcohols, forexample of coconut fatty alcohol, tallow fatty alcohol, lauryl,myristyl, cetyl or stearyl alcohol or of C₁₀-C₂₀-oxo alcohols and thosemonoesters of secondary alcohols of these chain lengths. Furtherpreferred are alk(en)yl sulfates of said chain length which comprise asynthetic, petrochemical-based straight-chain alkyl radical and haveanalogous degradation behavior to the equivalent compounds based onfatty chemical raw materials. From a washing performance viewpoint,preference is given to C₁₂-C₁₆-alkyl sulfates and C₁₂-C₁₅-alkylsulfates, and C₁₄-C₁₅-alkyl sulfates. 2,3-Alkyl sulfates are alsosuitable anionic surfactants.

The sulfuric monoesters of straight-chain or branched C₇₋₂₁-alcoholsethoxylated with from 1 to 6 mol of ethylene oxide, such as2-methyl-branched C₉₋₁₁-alcohols having, on average, 3.5 mol of ethyleneoxide (EO) or C₁₂₋₁₈-fatty alcohols having from 1 to 4 EO, are alsosuitable. Owing to their high foaming behavior, they are used incleaning agents only in relatively small amounts, for example in amountsup to 5% by weight, usually from 1 to 5% by weight.

Further suitable anionic surfactants are also the salts ofalkylsulfosuccinic acid, which are also referred to as sulfosuccinatesor as sulfosuccinic esters and which are monoesters and/or diesters ofsulfosuccinic acid with alcohols, preferably fatty alcohols and, inparticular, ethoxylated fatty alcohols. Preferred sulfosuccinatescontain C₈₋₁₈-fatty alcohol radicals or mixtures thereof. Particularlypreferred sulfosuccinates contain a fatty alcohol radical derived fromethoxylated fatty alcohols, which are themselves nonionic surfactants(see above for description). In this connection, sulfosuccinates whosefatty alcohol radicals are derived from ethoxylated fatty alcoholshaving a narrowed homolog distribution are, in turn, particularlypreferred. Likewise, it is also possible to use alk(en)ylsuccinic acidhaving preferably from 8 to 18 carbon atoms in the alk(en)yl chain orsalts thereof.

Further suitable anionic surfactants are, in particular, soaps.Saturated fatty acid soaps such as the salts of lauric acid, myristicacid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, hydrogenated erucic acid and behenicacid, and, in particular, soap mixtures derived from natural fattyacids, for example coconut, palm kernel or tallow fatty acids, aresuitable.

The anionic surfactants including soaps may be present in the form oftheir sodium, potassium or ammonium salts, and as soluble salts oforganic bases such as mono-, di- or triethanolamine. The anionicsurfactants are preferably in the form of their sodium or potassiumsalts, in particular in the form of the sodium salts.

The surfactants may be present in the cleaning or washing products ofthe invention in an overall amount of from preferably 5% by weight to50% by weight, in particular from 8% by weight to 30% by weight, basedon the finished product.

Washing or cleaning products of the invention may contain bleaches. Ofthe compounds which serve as bleaches and produce H₂O₂ in water, sodiumpercarbonate, sodium perborate tetrahydrate and sodium perboratemonohydrate are of particular importance. Other bleaches which can beused are, for example, peroxopyrophosphates, citrate perhydrates andH₂O₂-producing peracidic salts or peracids, such as persulfates orpersulfuric acid. Also useful is the urea peroxohydrate percarbamidewhich can be described by the formula H₂N—CO—NH₂.H₂O₂. In particularwhen used for cleaning hard surfaces, for example for machinedishwashing, the agents, if desired, may also contain bleaches from thegroup of organic bleaches, although the use thereof is possible inprinciple also in agents for washing textiles. Typical organic bleachesare diacyl peroxides such as, for example, dibenzoyl peroxide. Furthertypical organic bleaches are the peroxy acids, specific examples beingalkyl peroxy acids and aryl peroxy acids. Preferred representatives areperoxy benzoic acid and its ring-substituted derivatives, such asalkylperoxybenzoic acids, but also peroxy-α-naphthoic acid and magnesiummonoperphthalate, the aliphatic or substituted aliphatic peroxy acidssuch as peroxylauric acid, peroxystearic acid,ε-phthalimidoperoxycaproic acid (phthalimidoperoxyhexanoic acid, PAP),o-carboxybenzamidoperoxycaproic acid, N-nonenylamidoperadipic acid andN-nonenyl-amidopersuccinates, and aliphatic and araliphaticperoxydicarboxylic acids such as 1,12-diperoxycarboxylic acid,1,9-diperoxyazelaic acid, diperoxysebacic acid, diperoxybrassylic acid,diperoxyphthalic acids, 2-decyldiperoxybutane-1,4-dioic acid,N,N-terephthaloyldi(6-aminopercaproic acid) may be used.

The bleach content of the washing or cleaning products may be from 1 to40% by weight and, in particular, from 10 to 20% by weight, usingadvantageously perborate monohydrate or percarbonate.

In order to achieve improved bleaching action in cases of washing attemperatures of 60° C. and below, and in particular in the case oflaundry pretreatment, the agents may also include bleach activators.Bleach activators which can be used are compounds which, underperhydrolysis conditions, give aliphatic peroxocarboxylic acids havingpreferably from 1 to 10 carbon atoms, in particular from 2 to 4 carbonatoms, and/or substituted or unsubstituted perbenzoic acid. Substanceswhich carry O— and/or N-acyl groups of said number of carbon atomsand/or substituted or unsubstituted benzoyl groups are suitable.Preference is given to polyacylated alkylenediamines, in particulartetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED), acylated triazine derivatives, inparticular 1,5-diacetyl-2,4-dioxohexahydro-1,3,5-triazine (DADHT),acylated glycoluriles, in particular 1,3,4,6-tetraacetylglycoluril(TAGU), N-acylimides, in particular N-nonanoylsuccinimide (NOSI),acylated phenolsulfonates, in particular n-nonanoyl- orisononanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (n- or iso-NOBS), acylatedhydroxycarboxylic acids such as triethyl O-acetylcitrate (TEOC),carboxylic anhydrides, in particular phthalic anhydride, isatoicanhydride and/or succinic anhydride, carboxamides such asN-methyldiacetamide, glycolide, acylated polyhydric alcohols, inparticular triacetin, ethylene glycol diacetate, isopropenyl acetate,2,5-diacetoxy-2,5-dihydrofuran and the enol esters disclosed in Germanpatent applications DE 196 16 693 and DE 196 16 767, and acetylatedsorbitol and mannitol, or mixtures thereof described in European patentapplication EP 0 525 239 (SORMAN), acylated sugar derivatives, inparticular pentaacetylglucose (PAG), pentaacetylfructose,tetraacetylxylose and octaacetyllactose, and acetylated, optionallyN-alkylated glucamine or gluconolactone, triazole or triazolederivatives and/or particulate caprolactams and/or caprolactamderivatives, preferably N-acylated lactams, for exampleN-benzoylcaprolactam and N-acetylcaprolactam, which are disclosed ininternational patent applications WO 94/27970, WO 94/28102, WO 94/28103,WO 95/00626, WO 95/14759 and WO 95/17498. The hydrophilicallysubstituted acyl acetals disclosed in German patent application DE 19616 769 and the acyl lactams described in German patent application DE196 16 770 and in international patent application WO 95/14075 arelikewise used with preference. It is also possible to use thecombinations of conventional bleach activators disclosed in Germanpatent application DE 44 43 177. Nitrile derivatives such ascyanopyridines, nitrile quats, e.g. N-alkylammonium acetonitriles,and/or cyanamide derivatives may also be used. Preferred bleachactivators are sodium 4-(octanoyloxy)-benzenesulfonate, n-nonanoyl- orisononanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (n- or iso-NOBS),undecenoyloxybenzenesulfonate (UDOBS), sodiumdodecanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (DOBS), decanoyloxybenzoic acid (DOBA, OBC10) and/or dodecanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (OBS 12), andN-methylmorpholinium acetonitrile (MMA). Such bleach activators may bepresent in the customary quantitative range from 0.01 to 20% by weight,preferably in amounts from 0.1 to 15% by weight, in particular 1% byweight to 10% by weight, based on the total composition.

In addition to the conventional bleach activators or instead of them, itis also possible for “bleach catalysts” to be present. These substancesare bleach-enhancing transition metal salts or transition metalcomplexes such as, for example, Mn, Fe, Co, Ru or Mo salen complexes orcarbonyl complexes. Mn, Fe, Co, Ru, Mo, Ti, V and Cu complexescontaining N-containing tripod ligands, and Co, Fe, Cu and Ru amminecomplexes are also suitable as bleach catalysts, preference being givento using those compounds described in DE 19709284 A1.

Washing or cleaning products of the invention usually contain one ormore builders, in particular zeolites, silicates, carbonates, organiccobuilders and, where no ecological reasons oppose their use, alsophosphates. The latter are the preferred builders for use in particularin cleaning products for machine dishwashing.

Compounds which may be mentioned here are crystalline, layered sodiumsilicates of the general formula NaMSi_(x)O_(2x+1).yH₂O, where M issodium or hydrogen, x is a number from 1.6 to 4, preferably from 1.9 to4.0, and y is a number from 0 to 20, and preferred values for x are 2, 3or 4. Crystalline phyllosilicates of this kind are described, forexample, in European patent application EP 164514. Preferred crystallinephyllosilicates of the formula indicated are those where M is sodium andx adopts the values 2 or 3. In particular, both β- and δ-sodiumdisilicates Na₂Si₂O₅.yH₂O are preferred. Compounds of this kind aresold, for example, under the name SKS® (Clariant). Thus, SKS-6® isprimarily a δ-sodium disilicate having the formula Na₂Si₂O₅.yH₂O, andSKS-7® is primarily the β-sodium disilicate. Reacting the δ-sodiumdisilicate with acids (for example citric acid or carboxylic acid) giveskanemite, NaHSi₂O₅.yH₂O, sold under the names SKS-9® and, respectively,SKS-10® (Clariant). It may also be advantageous to use chemicalmodifications of said phyllosilicates. The alkalinity of thephyllosilicates, for example, can thus be suitably influenced.Phyllosilicates doped with phosphate or with carbonate have, compared tothe δ-sodium disilicate, altered crystal morphologies, dissolve morerapidly and display an increased calcium binding ability, compared toδ-sodium disilicate. Thus, phyllosilicates of the general empiricalformula xNa₂O.ySiO₂O.zP₂O₅ where the x-to-y ratio corresponds to anumber from 0.35 to 0.6, the x-to-z ratio to a number from 1.75 to 1 200and the y-to-z ratio to a number from 4 to 2 800 are described in patentapplication DE 196 01 063. The solubility of the phyllosilicates mayalso be increased by using particularly finely granulatedphyllosilicates. It is also possible to use compounds of the crystallinephyllosilicates with other ingredients. Compounds which may be mentionedhere are in particular those with cellulose derivatives which haveadvantageous disintegrating action and are used in particular indetergent tablets, and those with polycarboxylates, for example citricacid, or polymeric polycarboxylates, for example copolymers of acrylicacid.

It is also possible to use amorphous sodium silicates having a Na₂O:SiO₂modulus of from 1:2 to 1:3.3, preferably from 1:2 to 1:2.8, and inparticular from 1:2 to 1:2.6, which have delayed dissolution andsecondary detergent properties. The dissolution delay relative toconventional amorphous sodium silicates can have been induced by variousmeans, for example by surface treatment, compounding,compaction/compression or by overdrying. Within the scope of thisinvention, the term “amorphous” also means “X-ray amorphous”. This meansthat in X-ray diffraction experiments the silicates do not give thesharp X-ray reflections typical of crystalline substances, but instead,at best, one or more maxima of the scattered X-ray radiation, which havea width of several degree units of the diffraction angle. However, evenparticularly good builder properties will very likely result if, inelectron diffraction experiments, the silicate particles give poorlydefined or even sharp diffraction maxima. This is to be interpreted tothe effect that the products have microcrystalline regions with a sizefrom 10 to a few hundred nm, preference being given to values up to atmost 50 nm and in particular up to at most 20 nm. Particular preferenceis given to compressed/compacted amorphous silicates, compoundedamorphous silicates and overdried X-ray amorphous silicates.

A finely crystalline, synthetic zeolite containing bonded water, whichmay be used where appropriate, is preferably zeolite A and/or P. Aszeolite P, zeolite MAP® (commercial product from Crosfield) isparticularly preferred. However, zeolite X and mixtures of A, X and/or Pare also suitable. A product which is commercially available and can beused with preference within the scope of the present invention is, forexample, also a cocrystal of zeolite X and zeolite A (approx. 80% byweight zeolite X), which is sold by CONDEA Augusta S.p.A. under thetrade name VEGOBOND AX® and can be described by the formulanNa₂O-(1-n)K₂O.Al₂O₃.(2-2.5)SiO₂.(3.5-5.5)H₂O.

Suitable zeolites have an average particle size of less than 10 μm(volume distribution; measurement method: Coulter counter) andpreferably contain from 18 to 22% by weight, in particular from 20 to22% by weight, of bonded water.

Use of the generally known phosphates as builder substances is of coursealso possible, provided such a use should not be avoided for ecologicalreasons. Among the multiplicity of commercially available phosphates,the alkali metal phosphates are the most important in the detergents andcleaning agents industry, with pentasodium or pentapotassiumtriphosphate (sodium or potassium tripolyphosphate) being particularlypreferred.

In this connection, alkali metal phosphates is the collective term forthe alkali metal (in particular sodium and potassium) salts of thevarious phosphoric acids, it being possible to differentiate betweenmetaphosphoric acids (HPO₃)_(n) and orthophosphoric acid H₃PO₄ as wellas higher molecular weight representatives. The phosphates combineseveral advantages: they act as alkali carriers, prevent lime depositson machine parts and lime incrustations in fabrics and, moreover,contribute to the cleaning performance.

Sodium dihydrogenphosphate, NaH₂PO₄, exists as dihydrate (density 1.91gcm⁻³, melting point 60° C.) and as monohydrate (density 2.04 gcm⁻³).Both salts are white powders which are very readily soluble in water andwhich lose their water of crystallization upon heating and at 200° C.convert to the weakly acidic diphosphate (disodium hydrogendiphosphate,Na₂H₂P₂O₇), at a higher temperature to sodium trimetaphosphate (Na₃P₃O₉)and Maddrell's salt (see below). NaH₂PO₄ is acidic; it forms whenphosphoric acid is adjusted to a pH of 4.5 using sodium hydroxidesolution and the slurry is sprayed. Potassium dihydrogenphosphate(primary or monobasic potassium phosphate, potassium biphosphate, KDP),KH₂PO₄, is a white salt of density 2.33 gcm⁻³, has a melting point of253° C. [decomposition with the formation of potassium polyphosphate(KPO₃)_(x)] and is readily soluble in water.

Disodium hydrogenphosphate (secondary sodium phosphate), Na₂HPO₄, is acolorless crystalline salt which is very readily soluble in water. Itexists in anhydrous form and with 2 mol (density 2.066 gcm⁻³, loss ofwater at 95° C.), 7 mol (density 1.68 gcm⁻³, melting point 48° C. withloss of 5 H₂O), and 12 mol (density 1.52 gcm⁻³, melting point 35° C.with loss of 5 H₂O) of water, becomes anhydrous at 100° C. and upon morevigorous heating converts to the diphosphate Na₄P₂O₇. Disodiumhydrogenphosphate is prepared by neutralizing phosphoric acid withsodium carbonate solution using phenolphthalein as indicator.Dipotassium hydrogenphosphate (secondary or dibasic potassiumphosphate), K₂HPO₄, is an amorphous, white salt which is readily solublein water.

Trisodium phosphate, tertiary sodium phosphate, Na₃PO₄, are colorlesscrystals which, in the form of the dodecahydrate, have a density of 1.62gcm⁻³ and a melting point of 73-76° C. (decomposition), in the form ofthe decahydrate (corresponding to 19-20% P₂O₅) have a melting point of100° C. and in anhydrous form (corresponding to 39-40% P₂O₅) have adensity of 2.536 gcm⁻³. Trisodium phosphate is readily soluble in waterwith an alkaline reaction and is prepared by evaporating a solution ofexactly 1 mol of disodium phosphate and 1 mol of NaOH. Tripotassiumphosphate (tertiary or tribasic potassium phosphate), K₃PO₄, is a white,deliquescent granular powder of density 2.56 gcm⁻³, has a melting pointof 1 340° C. and is readily soluble in water with an alkaline reaction.It is produced, for example, during the heating of Thomas slag withcarbon and potassium sulfate. Despite the higher price, the more readilysoluble, and therefore highly effective, potassium phosphates are oftenpreferred over corresponding sodium compounds in the cleaning agentsindustry.

Tetrasodium diphosphate (sodium pyrophosphate), Na4P₂O₇, exists inanhydrous form (density 2.534 gcm⁻³, melting point 988° C., also 880° C.quoted) and as decahydrate (density 1.815-1.836 gcm⁻³, melting point 94°C. with loss of water). Both substances are colorless crystals whichdissolve in water with an alkaline reaction. Na₄P₂O₇ is formed duringthe heating of disodium phosphate to >200° C. or by reacting phosphoricacid with sodium carbonate in a stoichiometric ratio and dewatering thesolution by spraying. The decahydrate complexes heavy metal salts andhardness constituents and thus reduces the water hardness. Potassiumdiphosphate (potassium pyrophosphate), K₄P₂O₇, exists in the form of thetrihydrate and is a colorless, hygroscopic powder of density 2.33 gcm⁻³,which is soluble in water, the pH of the 1% strength solution at 25° C.being 10.4.

Condensation of NaH₂PO₄ and KH₂PO₄ results in higher molecular weightsodium phosphates and potassium phosphates, respectively, amongst whichcyclic representatives, the sodium and potassium metaphosphates,respectively, and chain-like types, the sodium and potassiumpolyphosphates, respectively, can be differentiated. Particularly forthe latter, a multiplicity of names are in use: melt or thermalphosphates, Graham's salt, Kurrol's and Maddrell's salt. All highersodium and potassium phosphates are together referred to as condensedphosphates.

The industrially important pentasodium triphosphate, Na₅P₃O₁₀ (sodiumtripolyphosphate), is a nonhygroscopic, white, water-soluble salt whichis anhydrous or crystallizes with 6 H₂O and is of the general formulaNaO—[P(O)(ONa)—O]_(n)—Na where n=3. In 100 g of water, about 17 g of thesalt which is free of water of crystallization dissolve at roomtemperature, approx. 20 g dissolve at 60° C., and about 32 g dissolve at100° C.; if the solution is heated at 100° C. for two hours, about 8% oforthophosphate and 15% of diphosphate form due to hydrolysis. In thepreparation of pentasodium triphosphate, phosphoric acid is reacted withsodium carbonate solution or sodium hydroxide solution in astoichiometric ratio, and the solution is dewatered by spraying.Similarly to Graham's salt and sodium diphosphate, pentasodiumtriphosphate dissolves many insoluble metal compounds (including limesoaps, etc.). Pentapotassium triphosphate, K₅P₃O₁₀ (potassiumtripolyphosphate), is available commercially, for example, in the formof a 50% strength by weight solution (>23% P₂O₅, 25% K₂O). The potassiumpolyphosphates are used widely in the detergents and cleaning agentsindustry. In addition, sodium potassium tripolyphosphates also existwhich can likewise be used within the scope of the present invention.These form, for example, when sodium trimetaphosphate is hydrolyzed withKOH:(NaPO₃)₃+2 KOH→Na₃K₂P₃O₁₀+H₂O

According to the invention, these can be used in exactly the same way assodium tripolyphosphate, potassium tripolyphosphate or mixtures of thesetwo; mixtures of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium potassiumtripolyphosphate or mixtures of potassium tripolyphosphate and sodiumpotassium tripolyphosphate or mixtures of sodium tripolyphosphate andpotassium tripolyphosphate and sodium potassium tripolyphosphate canalso be used according to the invention.

Organic cobuilders which can be used in the washing and cleaningproducts of the invention are, in particular, polycarboxylates orpolycarboxylic acids, polymeric polycarboxylates, polyaspartic acid,polyacetals, optionally oxidized dextrins, further organic cobuilders(see below), and phosphonates. These classes of substance are describedbelow.

Useable organic builder substances are, for example, the polycarboxylicacids usable in the form of their sodium salts, the term polycarboxylicacids meaning those carboxylic acids which carry more than one acidfunction. Examples of these are citric acid, adipic acid, succinic acid,glutaric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid,sugar acids, aminocarboxylic acids, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), as longas such a use is not to be avoided for ecological reasons, and mixturesthereof. Preferred salts are the salts of the polycarboxylic acids suchas citric acid, adipic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, tartaricacid, sugar acids, and mixtures thereof.

It is also possible to use the acids per se. In addition to theirbuilder action, the acids typically also have the property of anacidifying component and thus also serve to establish a lower and milderpH of detergents or cleaning agents, if the pH resulting from themixture of the remaining components is not desired. Particular mentionshould be made here of system-compatible and environmentally safe acidssuch as citric acid, acetic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, lacticacid, glycolic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, gluconicacid and any mixtures thereof. However, mineral acids, in particularsulfuric acid, or bases, in particular ammonium or alkali metalhydroxides, may also serve as pH regulators. The agents of the inventioncontain such regulators in amounts of preferably not more than 20% byweight, in particular from 1.2% by weight to 17% by weight.

Suitable builders are also polymeric polycarboxylates; these are, forexample, the alkali metal salts of polyacrylic acid or ofpolymethacrylic acid, for example those having a relative molecular massof from 500 to 70 000 g/mol.

The molar masses given for polymeric polycarboxylates are, for thepurposes of this specification, weight-average molar masses, M_(W), ofthe respective acid form, always determined by means of gel permeationchromatography (GPC), using a UV detector. The measurement was madeagainst an external polyacrylic acid standard which, owing to itsstructural similarity towards the polymers studied, provides realisticmolecular weight values. These figures differ considerably from themolecular weight values obtained using polystyrenesulfonic acids as thestandard. The molar masses measured against polystyrenesulfonic acidsare usually considerably higher than the molar masses given in thisspecification.

Suitable polymers are, in particular, polyacrylates which preferablyhave a molecular mass of from 2 000 to 20 000 g/mol. Owing to theirsuperior solubility, preference in this group may be given in turn tothe short-chain polyacrylates which have molar masses of from 2 000 to10 000 g/mol, and particularly preferably from 3 000 to 5 000 g/mol.

Also suitable are copolymeric polycarboxylates, in particular those ofacrylic acid with methacrylic acid and of acrylic acid or methacrylicacid with maleic acid. Copolymers which have proven to be particularlysuitable are those of acrylic acid with maleic acid which contain from50 to 90% by weight of acrylic acid and from 50 to 10% by weight ofmaleic acid. Their relative molecular mass, based on free acids, isgenerally from 2 000 to 70 000 g/mol, preferably 20 000 to 50 000 g/moland in particular 30 000 to 40 000 g/mol. The (co)polymericpolycarboxylates may be used either as powders or as aqueous solution.The (co)polymeric polycarboxylates may be from 0.5 to 20% by weight, inparticular 1 to 10% by weight of the content of the product.

To improve the solubility in water, the polymers may also containallylsulfonic acids such as, for example, allyloxybenzenesulfonic acidand methallylsulfonic acid as monomers.

Particular preference is also given to biodegradable polymers of morethan two different monomer units, for example those which contain, asmonomers, salts of acrylic acid and of maleic acid, and vinyl alcohol orvinyl alcohol derivatives, or those which contain, as monomers, salts ofacrylic acid and of 2-alkylallylsulfonic acid, and sugar derivatives.

Further preferred copolymers are those which preferably have, asmonomers, acrolein and acrylic acid/acrylic acid salts or acrolein andvinyl acetate.

Further preferred builder substances which may be mentioned are alsopolymeric aminodicarboxylic acids, their salts or their precursorsubstances. Particular preference is given to polyaspartic acids orsalts and derivatives thereof.

Further suitable builder substances are polyacetals which can beobtained by reacting dialdehydes with polyolcarboxylic acids having from5 to 7 carbon atoms and at least 3 hydroxyl groups. Preferredpolyacetals are obtained from dialdehydes such as glyoxal,glutaraldehyde, terephthalaldehyde and mixtures thereof and frompolyolcarboxylic acids such as gluconic acid and/or glucoheptonic acid.

Further suitable organic builder substances are dextrins, for exampleoligomers or polymers of carbohydrates, which can be obtained by partialhydrolysis of starches. The hydrolysis can be carried out by customaryprocesses, for example acid-catalyzed or enzyme-catalyzed processes. Thehydrolysis products preferably have average molar masses in the rangefrom 400 to 500 000 g/mol. Preference is given here to a polysaccharidehaving a dextrose equivalent (DE) in the range from 0.5 to 40, inparticular from 2 to 30, where DE is a common measure of the reducingaction of a polysaccharide compared with dextrose which has a DE of 100.It is possible to use both maltodextrins having a DE between 3 and 20and dried glucose syrups having a DE between 20 and 37, and also “yellowdextrins” and “white dextrins” with higher molar masses in the rangefrom 2 000 to 30 000 g/mol.

The oxidized derivatives of such dextrins are their reaction productswith oxidizing agents which are able to oxidize at least one alcoholfunction of the saccharide ring to the carboxylic acid function.Particularly preferred organic builders for agents of the invention areoxidized starches and derivatives thereof of the applications EP 472042,WO 97/25399 and EP 755944, respectively.

Oxydisuccinates and other derivatives of disuccinates, preferablyethylenediamine disuccinate, are also further suitable cobuilders. Here,ethylenediamine N,N′-disuccinate (EDDS) is preferably used in the formof its sodium or magnesium salts. In this connection, further preferenceis also given to glycerol disuccinates and glycerol trisuccinates.Suitable use amounts in zeolite-containing, carbonate-containing and/orsilicate-containing formulations are between 3 and 15% by weight.

Further organic cobuilders which can be used are, for example,acetylated hydroxy carboxylic acids or salts thereof, which may also bepresent, where appropriate, in lactone form and which contain at least 4carbon atoms and at least one hydroxy group and at most two acid groups.

A further class of substance having cobuilder properties is thephosphonates. These are, in particular, hydroxyalkane- andaminoalkanephosphonates. Among the hydroxyalkanephosphonates,1-hydroxyethane1,1-diphosphonate (HEDP) is of particular importance as acobuilder. It is preferably used as sodium salt, the disodium salt beingneutral and the tetrasodium salt being alkaline (pH 9). Suitableaminoalkanephosphonates are preferablyethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate (EDTMP),diethylenetriaminepentamethylenephosphonate (DTPMP) and higher homologsthereof. They are preferably used in the form of the neutral sodiumsalts, for example as the hexasodium salt of EDTMP or as the hepta- andoctasodium salt of DTPMP. Here, preference is given to using HEDP asbuilder from the class of phosphonates. In addition, theaminoalkanephosphonates have a marked heavy metal-binding capacity.Accordingly, particularly if the agents also contain bleaches, it may bepreferable to use aminoalkanephosphonates, in particular DTPMP, ormixtures of said phosphonates.

In addition, all compounds which are able to form complexes withalkaline earth metal ions can be used as cobuilders.

The washing or cleaning products of the invention may contain buildersubstances, where appropriate, in amounts of up to 90% by weight, andpreferably contain them in amounts of up to 75% by weight. Washingproducts of the invention have builder contents of, in particular, from5% by weight to 50% by weight. In inventive products for cleaning hardsurfaces, in particular for machine cleaning of dishes, the buildersubstance content is in particular from 5% by weight to 88% by weight,with preferably no water-insoluble builder materials being used in suchproducts. A preferred embodiment of inventive products for, inparticular, machine cleaning of dishes contains from 20% by weight to40% by weight water-soluble organic builders, in particular alkali metalcitrate, from 5% by weight to 15% by weight alkali metal carbonate andfrom 20% by weight to 40% by weight alkali metal disilicate.

Solvents which may be used in the liquid to gelatinous compositions ofwashing and cleaning products are, for example, from the group ofmonohydric or polyhydric alcohols, alkanolamines or glycol ethers, aslong as they are miscible with water in the given concentration range.Preferably, the solvents are selected from ethanol, n- or isopropanol,butanols, ethylene glycol methyl ether, ethylene glycol ethyl ether,ethylene glycol propyl ether, ethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether,diethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol ethyl ether, propyleneglycol methyl, ethyl or propyl ether, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ormonoethyl ether, diisopropylene glycol monomethyl or monoethyl ether,methoxy, ethoxy or butoxy triglycol, 1-butoxyethoxy-2-propanol,3-methyl-3-methoxybutanol, propylene glycol t-butyl ether, and mixturesof these solvents.

Solvents may be used in the liquid to gelatinous washing and cleaningproducts of the invention in amounts of between 0.1 and 20% by weight,but preferably below 15% by weight, and in particular below 10% byweight.

To adjust the viscosity, one or more thickeners or thickening systemsmay be added to the composition of the invention. These high molecularweight substances which are also called swell(ing) agents usually soakup the liquids and swell in the process, converting ultimately intoviscous, true or colloidal solutions.

Suitable thickeners are inorganic or polymeric organic compounds.Inorganic thickeners include, for example, polysilicic acids, clayminerals, such as montmorillonites, zeolites, silicas and bentonites.The organic thickeners are from the groups of natural polymers, modifiednatural polymers and completely synthetic polymers. Such naturalpolymers are, for example, agar-agar, carrageen, tragacanth, gum arabic,alginates, pectins, polyoses, guar flour, carob seed flour, starch,dextrins, gelatins and casein. Modified natural substances which areused as thickeners are primarily from the group of modified starches andcelluloses. Examples which may be mentioned here arecarboxymethylcellulose and other cellulose ethers, hydroxyethylcelluloseand hydroxypropylcellulose, and carob flour ether. Completely syntheticthickeners are polymers such as polyacrylic and polymethacryliccompounds, vinyl polymers, polycarboxylic acids, polyethers, polyimines,polyamides and polyurethanes.

The thickeners may be present in an amount up to 5% by weight,preferably from 0.05 to 2% by weight, and particularly preferably from0.1 to 1.5% by weight, based on the finished composition.

The washing and cleaning product of the invention may, whereappropriate, comprise, as further customary ingredients, sequesteringagents, electrolytes and further excipients such as optical brighteners,graying inhibitors, silver corrosion inhibitors, color transferinhibitors, foam inhibitors, abrasive substances, dyes and/orfragrances, and microbial active substances, UV-absorbents and/or enzymestabilizers.

The textile washing products of the invention may contain, as opticalbrighteners, derivatives of diaminostilbenedisulfonic acid or alkalimetal salts thereof. Suitable are, for example, salts of4,4′-bis(2-anilino-4-morpholino-1,3,5-triazinyl-6-amino)stilbene-2,2′-disulfonicacid or similarly constructed compounds which carry a diethanolaminogroup, a methylamino group, an anilino group or a 2-methoxyethylaminogroup instead of the morpholino group. In addition, brighteners of thesubstituted diphenylstyryl type may be present, for example the alkalimetal salts of 4,4′-bis(2-sulfostyryl)diphenyl,4,4′-bis(4-chloro-3-sulfostyryl)diphenyl, or4-(4-chlorostyryl)-4′-(2-sulfostyryl)diphenyl. Mixtures of theabovementioned optical brighteners may also be used.

Graying inhibitors have the function of keeping the soil detached fromthe textile fiber in suspension in the liquor. Suitable for this purposeare water-soluble colloids, usually organic in nature, for examplestarch, size, gelatin, salts of ethercarboxylic acids or ethersulfonicacids of starch or of cellulose, or salts of acidic sulfuric esters ofcellulose or of starch. Water-soluble polyamides containing acidicgroups are also suitable for this purpose. Furthermore, starchderivatives other than those mentioned above may be used, for examplealdehyde starches. Preference is given to cellulose ethers such ascarboxymethylcellulose (Na salt), methylcellulose, hydroxyalkylcelluloseand mixed ethers such as methyl-hydroxyethylcellulose,methylhydroxypropylcellulose, methylcarboxymethylcellulose, and mixturesthereof, for example in amounts of from 0.1 to 5% by weight, based onthe agents.

In order to protect against silver corrosion, silver corrosioninhibitors may be used in dishwashing cleaning products of theinvention. Such inhibitors are known in the prior art, for examplebenzotriazoles, iron(III) chloride or CoSO₄. As disclosed by, forexample, European patent EP 0 736 084 B1, silver corrosion inhibitorswhich are particularly suitable for being used together with enzymes aremanganese, titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, cobalt, or ceriumsalts and/or complexes in which the specified metals are present in anyof the oxidation states II, III, IV, V or VI. Examples of such compoundsare MnSO₄, V₂O₅, V₂O₄, VO₂, TiOSO₄, K₂TiF₆, K₂ZrF₆, Co(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₃,and mixtures thereof.

Soil-release active ingredients or soil repellents are usually polymerswhich, when used in a washing product, impart soil-repellent propertiesto the laundry fiber and/or assist the ability of the other washingproduct ingredients to detach soil. A comparable effect can also beobserved with their use in cleaning products for hard surfaces.

Soil-release active ingredients which are particularly effective andhave been known for a long time are copolyesters having dicarboxylicacid, alkylene glycol and polyalkylene glycol units. Examples thereofare copolymers or mixed polymers of polyethylene terephthalate andpolyoxyethylene glycol (DT 16 17 141, and, respectively, DT 22 00 911).German Laid-Open Specification DT 22 53 063 discloses acidic agentscontaining, inter alia, a copolymer of a dibasic carboxylic acid and analkylene or cycloalkylene polyglycol. German documents DE 28 57 292 andDE 33 24258 and European patent EP 0 253 567 describe polymers ofethylene terephthalate and polyethylene oxide terephthalate and the usethereof in washing products. European patent EP 066 944 relates toproducts containing a copolyester of ethylene glycol, polyethyleneglycol, aromatic dicarboxylic acid and sulfonated aromatic dicarboxylicacid in particular molar ratios. European patent EP 0 185 427 disclosesmethyl or ethyl group end-capped polyesters having ethylene and/orpropylene terephthalate and polyethylene oxide terephthalate units, anddetergents containing such a soil-release polymer. European patent EP 0241 984 discloses a polyester which contains, in addition to oxyethylenegroups and terephthalic acid units, also substituted ethylene units andglycerol units. European patent EP 0 241 985 discloses polyesters whichcontain, in addition to oxyethylene groups and terephthalic acid units,1,2-propylene, 1,2-butylene and/or 3-methoxy-1,2-propylene groups, andglycerol units and which are end-group-capped with C₁— to C₄-alkylgroups. European patent application EP 0 272 033 discloses polyestershaving polypropylene terephthalate and polyoxyethylene terephthalateunits, which are at least partially end-group-capped by C₁₋₄-alkyl oracyl radicals. European patent EP 0 274 907 describes sulfoethylend-group-capped terephthalate-containing soil-release polyesters.According to European patent application EP 0 357 280, sulfonation ofunsaturated end groups produces soil-release polyesters havingterephthalate, alkylene glycol and poly-C₂₋₄-glycol units. Internationalpatent application WO 95/32232 relates to acidic, aromatic polyesterscapable of detaching soil. International patent application WO 97/31085discloses nonpolymeric soil-repellent active ingredients for materialsmade of cotton, which have a plurality of functional units: a first unitwhich may be cationic, for example, is able to adsorb to the cottonsurface by means of electrostatic interaction, and a second unit whichis hydrophobic is responsible for the active ingredient remaining at thewater/cotton interface.

The color transfer inhibitors suitable for use in laundry washingproducts of the invention include, in particular, polyvinylpyrrolidones,polyvinylimidazoles, polymeric N-oxides such as poly(vinylpyridineN-oxide) and copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone with vinylimidazole.

For use in machine cleaning processes, it may be of advantage to addfoam inhibitors to the relevant products. Examples of suitable foaminhibitors are soaps of natural or synthetic origin having a highproportion of C₁₈-C₂₄ fatty acids. Examples of suitablenonsurfactant-type foam inhibitors are organopolysiloxanes and theirmixtures with microfine, optionally silanized silica and also paraffins,waxes, microcrystalline waxes, and mixtures thereof with silanizedsilica or bis-stearyl-ethylenediamide. With advantages, use is also madeof mixtures of different foam inhibitors, for example mixtures ofsilicones, paraffins or waxes. The foam inhibitors, in particular thosecontaining silicone and/or paraffin, are preferably bound to a granular,water-soluble or dispersible support substance. Particular preference isgiven here to mixtures of paraffins and bis-stearylethylenediamides.

A cleaning product of the invention for hard surfaces may, in addition,contain ingredients with abrasive action, in particular from the groupcomprising quartz flours, wood flours, polymer flours, chalks and glassmicrobeads, and mixtures thereof. Abrasives are present in the cleaningproducts of the invention preferably at not more than 20% by weight, inparticular from 5% by weight to 15% by weight.

Dyes and fragrances are added to washing and cleaning products in orderto improve the esthetic appeal of the products and to provide theconsumer, in addition to washing and cleaning performance, with avisually and sensorially “typical and unmistakable” product. As perfumeoils and/or fragrances it is possible to use individual odorantcompounds, for example the synthetic products of the ester, ether,aldehyde, ketone, alcohol and hydrocarbon types. Odorant compounds ofthe ester type are, for example, benzyl acetate, phenoxyethylisobutyrate, p-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate, linalyl acetate,dimethylbenzylcarbinyl acetate, phenylethyl acetate, linalyl benzoate,benzyl formate, ethyl methylphenyl glycinate, allylcyclohexylpropionate, styrallyl propionate and benzyl salicylate. The ethersinclude, for example, benzyl ethyl ether; the aldehydes include, forexample, the linear alkanals having 8-18 carbon atoms, citral,citronellal, citronellyloxyacetaldehyde, cyclamen aldehyde,hydroxycitronellal, lilial and bourgeonal; the ketones include, forexample, the ionones, α-isomethylionone and methyl cedryl ketone; thealcohols include anethol, citronellol, eugenol, geraniol, linalool,phenylethyl alcohol, and terpineol; the hydrocarbons include primarilythe terpenes such as limonene and pinene. Preference, however, is givento the use of mixtures of different odorants which together produce anappealing fragrance note. Such perfume oils may also contain naturalodorant mixtures, as obtainable from plant sources, for example pineoil, citrus oil, jasmine oil, patchouli oil, rose oil or ylang-ylangoil. Likewise suitable are muscatel, sage oil, camomile oil, clove oil,balm oil, mint oil, cinnamon leaf oil, lime blossom oil, juniper berryoil, vetiver oil, olibanum oil, galbanum oil and labdanum oil, and alsoorange blossom oil, neroli oil, orangepeel oil and sandalwood oil. Thedye content of detergents and cleaning agents is usually less than 0.01%by weight, while fragrances may make up up to 2% by weight of theoverall formulation.

The fragrances may be incorporated directly into the washing andcleaning products; however, it may also be advantageous to apply thefragrances to carriers which enhance the adhesion of the perfume to thematerial to be cleaned and, by means of slower fragrance release, ensurelong-lasting fragrance, in particular of treated textiles. Materialswhich have become established as such carriers are, for example,cyclodextrins, it being possible, in addition, for thecyclodextrin-perfume complexes also to be coated with furtherauxiliaries. Another preferred carrier for fragances is the describedzeolite X which can also absorb fragrances instead of or in a mixturewith surfactants. Preference is therefore given to washing and cleaningproducts which contain the described zeolite X and fragrances which,preferably, are at least partially absorbed on the zeolite.

Preferred dyes whose selection is by no means difficult for the skilledworker have high storage stability and insensitivity to the otheringredients of the products and to light, and also have no pronouncedaffinity for textile fibers, so as not to stain them.

To control microorganisms, washing or cleaning products may containantimicrobial active ingredients. Depending on antimicrobial spectrumand mechanism of action, a distinction is made here betweenbacteriostatics and bactericides, fungistatics and fungicides, etc.Examples of important substances from these groups are benzalkoniumchlorides, alkylarylsulfonates, halophenols and phenylmercury acetate.The terms antimicrobial action and antimicrobial active ingredient have,within the teaching of the invention, the meaning common in the priorart, which is described, for example, by K. H. Wallhäuβer in “Praxis derSterilisation, Desinfektion—Konservierung:Keimidentifizierung—Betriebshygiene” (5th Edition,—Stuttgart; New York:Thieme, 1995), it being possible to use all of the substances havingantimicrobial action described there. Suitable antimicrobial activeingredients are preferably selected from the groups of alcohols, amines,aldehydes, antimicrobial acids or their salts, carboxylic esters, acidamides, phenols, phenol derivatives, diphenyls, diphenylalkanes, ureaderivatives, oxygen acetals, nitrogen acetals and also oxygen andnitrogen formals, benzamidines, isothioazolines, phthalimidederivatives, pyridine derivatives, antimicrobial surfactant compounds,guanidines, antimicrobial amphoteric compounds, quinolines,1,2-dibromo-2,4-dicyanobutane, iodo-2-propylbutyl carbamate, iodine,iodophors, peroxo compounds, halogen compounds, and any mixtures of theabove.

The antimicrobial active ingredient may be selected from ethanol,n-propanol, isopropanol, 1,3-butanediol, phenoxyethanol, 1,2-propyleneglycol, glycerol, undecylenic acid, benzoic acid, salicylic acid,dihydracetic acid, o-phenylphenol, N-methylmorpholinoacetonitrile (MMA),2-benzyl-4-chlorophenol, 2,2′-methylenebis(6-bromo-4-chlorophenol),4,4′-dichloro-2′-hydroxydiphenyl ether (dichlosan),2,4,4′-trichloro-2′-hydroxydiphenyl ether (trichlosan), chlorohexidine,N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)urea,N,N′-(1,10-decanediyldi-1-pyridinyl-4-ylidene)-bis(1-octanamine)dihydrochloride,N,N′-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-3,12-diimino-2,4,11,13-tetraazatetradecanediimideamide,glucoprotamines, antimicrobial surface-active quaternary compounds,guanidines including the bi- and polyguanidines, such as, for example,1,6-bis(2-ethylhexylbiguanidohexane) dihydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-phenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexane tetrahydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-phenyl-N₁,N₁-methyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanedihydrochloride, 1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-o-chlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanedihydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-2,6-dichlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanedihydrochloride,1,6-di-[N₁,N₁′-beta-(p-methoxyphenyl)diguanido-N₅,N₅′]hexanedihydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-alpha-methyl-beta-phenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanedihydrochloride, 1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-p-nitrophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanedihydrochloride,omega:omega-di-(N₁,N₁′-phenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)-di-n-propyl etherdihydrochloride,omega:omega′-di-(N₁,N₁′-p-chlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)-di-n-propylether tetrahydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-2,4-dichlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanetetrahydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-p-methylphenyl-diguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexane dihydrochloride,1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-2,4,5-trichlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanetetrahydrochloride,1,6-di-[N₁,N₁′-alpha-(p-chlorophenyl)ethyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′]hexanedihydrochloride,omega:omega-di-(N₁,N₁′-p-chlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)m-xylenedihydrochloride, 1,12-di-(N₁,N₁′-p-chlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)dodecanedihydrochloride, 1,10-di-(N₁,N₁′-phenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)decanetetrahydrochloride, 1,12-di-(N₁,N₁′-phenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)dodecanetetrahydrochloride, 1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-o-chlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanedihydrochloride, 1,6-di-(N₁,N₁′-o-chlorophenyldiguanido-N₅,N₅′)hexanetetrahydrochloride, ethylenebis(1-tolylbiguanide),ethylenebis(p-tolylbiguanide), ethylenebis(3,5-dimethylphenylbiguanide),ethylene-bis(p-tert-amylphenylbiguanide),ethylenebis(nonylphenylbiguanide), ethylenebis(phenylbiguanide),ethylenebis(N-butylphenylbiguanide),ethylene-bis(2,5-diethoxyphenylbiguanide),ethylene-bis(2,4-dimethylphenylbiguanide),ethylenebis(o-diphenylbiguanide), ethylenebis(mixed amylnaphthylbiguanide), N-butylethylenebis(phenylbiguanide),trimethylenebis(o-tolylbiguanide), N-butyl-trimethylbis(phenylbiguanide)and the corresponding salts such as acetates, gluconates,hydrochlorides, hydrobromides, citrates, bisulfites, fluorides,polymaleates, N-cocoalkylsarcosinates, phosphites, hypophosphites,perfluorooctanoates, silicates, sorbates, salicylates, maleates,tartrates, fumarates, ethylenediaminetetraacetates, iminodiacetates,cinnamates, thiocyanates, arginates, pyromellitates,tetracarboxybutyrates, benzoates, glutarates, monofluorophosphates,perfluoropropionates, and any mixtures thereof. Also suitable arehalogenated xylene and cresol derivatives, such as p-chlorometacresol orp-chlorometaxylene, and natural antimicrobial active ingredients ofplant origin (for example from spices or herbs), animal origin andmicrobial origin. Preference may be given to using antimicrobialsurface-active quaternary compounds, a natural antimicrobial activeingredient of plant origin and/or a natural antimicrobial activeingredient of animal origin, most preferably at least one naturalantimicrobial active ingredient of plant origin from the groupcomprising caffeine, theobromine and theophylline and essential oilssuch as eugenol, thymol and geraniol, and/or at least one naturalantimicrobial active ingredient of animal origin from the groupcomprising enzymes such as milk protein, lysozyme and lactoperoxidase,and/or at least one antimicrobial surface-active quaternary compoundhaving an ammonium, sulfonium, phosphonium, iodonium or arsonium group,peroxo compounds and chlorine compounds. It is also possible to usesubstances of microbial origin, the “bacteriocines”.

The quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) which are suitable asantimicrobial active ingredients have the general formula(R¹)(R²)(R³)(R⁴) N⁺X⁻ where R¹ to R⁴ are identical or differentC₁-C₂₂-alkyl radicals, C₇-C₂₈-aralkyl radicals or heterocyclic radicals,where two, or in the case of an aromatic incorporation such as inpyridine, even three radicals, together with the nitrogen atom, form theheterocycle, for example a pyridinium or imidazolinium compound, and X⁻are halide ions, sulfate ions, hydroxide ions or similar anions. Foroptimal antimicrobial action, at least one of the radicals preferablyhas a chain length of from 8 to 18, in particular 12 to 16, carbonatoms.

QACs can be prepared by reacting tertiary amines with alkylating agentssuch as, for example, methyl chloride, benzyl chloride, dimethylsulfate, dodecyl bromide, or else ethylene oxide. The alkylation oftertiary amines having one long alkyl radical and two methyl groupsproceeds particularly readily, and the quaternization of tertiary amineshaving two long radicals and one methyl group can also be carried outwith the aid of methyl chloride under mild conditions. Amines which havethree long alkyl radicals or hydroxy-substituted alkyl radicals have lowreactivity and are preferably quaternized using dimethyl sulfate.

Examples of suitable QACs are benzalkonium chloride(N-alkyl-N,N-dimethylbenzylammonium chloride, CAS No. 8001-54-5),benzalkone B (m,p-dichlorobenzyldimethyl-C12-alkylammonium chloride, CASNo. 58390-78-6), benzoxonium chloride(benzyldodecylbis(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium chloride), cetrimonium bromide(N-hexadecyl-N,N-trimethylammonium bromide, CAS No. 57-09-0),benzetonium chloride(N,N-dimethyl-N-[2-[2-[p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenoxy]ethoxy]ethyl]benzylammoniumchloride, CAS No. 121-54-0), dialkyldimethylammonium chlorides such asdi-n-decyldimethylammonium chloride (CAS No. 7173-51-5-5),didecyldimethylammonium bromide (CAS No. 2390-68-3),dioctyldimethylammonium chloride, 1-cetylpyridinium chloride (CAS No.123-03-5) and thiazoline iodide (CAS No. 15764-48-1), and mixturesthereof. Particularly preferred QACs are the benzalkonium chlorideshaving C₈-C₁₈-alkyl radials, in particularC₁₂-C₁₄-alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chloride.

Benzalkonium halides and/or substituted benzalkonium halides arecommercially available, for example, as Barquat® ex Lonza, Marquat® exMason, Variquat® ex Witco/Sherex and Hyamine® ex Lonza, and Bardac® exLonza. Further commercially available antimicrobial active ingredientsare N-(3-chloroallyl)hexaminium chloride such as Dowicide® and Dowicil®ex Dow, benzethonium chloride such as Hyamine® 1622 ex Rohm & Haas,methylbenzethonium chloride such as Hyamine® 10X ex Rohm & Haas,cetylpyridinium chloride such as cepacol chloride ex Merrell Labs.

The antimicrobial active ingredients are used in amounts of from 0.0001%by weight to 1% by weight, preferably from 0.001% by weight to 0.8% byweight, particularly preferably from 0.005% by weight to 0.3% by weight,and in particular from 0.01 to 0.2% by weight.

The washing or cleaning products of the invention may contain UVabsorbers which attach to the treated textiles and improve the lightstability of the fibers and/or the light stability of other formulationconstituents. UV absorbers mean organic substances (light protectionfilters) which are able to absorb ultraviolet radiation and to emit theabsorbed energy again in the form of radiation of longer wavelength, forexample heat.

Compounds which have these desired properties are, for example, thecompounds which are active via radiationless deactivation andderivatives of benzophenone having substituents in position(s) 2 and/or4. Furthermore, also suitable are substituted benzotriazoles, acrylateswhich are phenyl-substituted in position 3 (cinnamic acid derivatives,with or without cyano groups in position 2), salicylates, organic Nicomplexes and natural substances such as umbelliferone and theendogenous urocanic acid. Of particular importance are biphenylderivatives and especially stilbene derivatives, as described, forexample, in EP 0728749 A and commercially available as Tinosorb® FD orTinosorb® FR ex Ciba. UV-B absorbers which may be mentioned are:3-benzylidenecamphor or 3-benzylidenenorcamphor and derivatives thereof,for example 3-(4-methylbenzylidene)camphor, as described in EP 0693471B1; 4-aminobenzoic acid derivatives, preferably 2-ethylhexyl4-(dimethylamino)benzoate, 2-octyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate and amyl4-(dimethylamino)benzoate; esters of cinnamic acid, preferably2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate, propyl 4-methoxycinnamate, isoamyl4-methoxycinnamate, 2-ethylhexyl 2-cyano-3,3-phenylcinnamate(octocrylenes); esters of salicylic acid, preferably 2-ethylhexylsalicylate, 4-isopropylbenzyl salicylate, homomenthyl salicylate;derivatives of benzophenone, preferably 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone,2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-4′-methylbenzophenone,2,2′-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone; esters of benzalmalonic acid,preferably di-2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxybenzmalonate; triazine derivativessuch as, for example,2,4,6-trianilino-(p-carbo-2′-ethyl-1′-hexyloxy)-1,3,5-triazine andoctyltriazone, as described in EP 0818450 A1, ordioctylbutamidotriazones (Uvasorb® HEB); propane-1,3-diones such as, forexample, 1-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-3-(4′-methoxyphenyl) propane-1,3-dione;ketotricyclo(5.2.1.0)decane derivatives, as described in EP 0694521 B1.Further suitable are 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid and itsalkali metal, alkaline earth metal, ammonium, alkylammonium,alkanolammonium and glucammonium salts; sulfonic acid derivatives ofbenzophenones, preferably 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulfonicacid and its salts; sulfonic acid derivatives of 3-benzylidenecamphor,such as, for example, 4-(2-oxo-3-bornylidenemethyl)benzenesulfonic acidand 2-methyl-5-(2-oxo-3-bornylidene)sulfonic acid and salts thereof.

Suitable typical UV-A filters are, in particular, derivatives ofbenzoylmethane, such as, for example,1-(4′-tert-butylphenyl)-3-(4′-methoxyphenyl)propane-1,3-dione,4-tert-butyl-4′-methoxydibenzoylmethane (Parsol 1789),1-phenyl-3-(4′-isopropylphenyl)propane-1,3-dione, and enamine compounds,as described in DE 19712033 A1 (BASF). The UV-A and UV-B filters may ofcourse also be used in mixtures. In addition to said soluble substances,insoluble light protection pigments, namely finely dispersed, preferablynanoized, metal oxides or salts, are also suitable for this purpose.Examples of suitable metal oxides are, in particular, zinc oxide andtitanium dioxide and also oxides of iron, zirconium, silicon, manganese,aluminum and cerium, and mixtures thereof. Salts which may be used aresilicates (talc), barium sulfate or zinc stearate. The oxides and saltsare already used in the form of the pigments for skin-care andskin-protective emulsions and decorative cosmetics. The particles hereshould have an average diameter of less than 100 nm, preferably between5 and 50 nm, and in particular between 15 and 30 nm. They can have aspherical shape, but it is also possible to use particles which have anellipsoidal shape or a shape deviating in some other way from thespherical form. The pigments may also be surface-treated, i.e.hydrophilicized or hydrophobicized. Typical examples are coated titaniumdioxides such as, for example, titanium dioxide T 805 (Degussa) orEusolex® T2000 (Merck); suitable hydrophobic coating agents are herepreferably silicones and, particularly preferably, trialkoxyoctylsilanesor simethicones. Preference is given to using micronized zinc oxide.Further suitable UV light protection filters can be found in the reviewby P. Finkel in SÖFW-Journal 122 (1996), p. 543.

The UV absorbers are usually used in amounts of from 0.01% by weight to5% by weight, preferably from 0.03% by weight to 1% by weight.

The ingredients usual for washing and cleaning products generally alsoinclude detersive and, respectively, cleaning-active enzymes.

Thus, washing or cleaning products which are also characterized byfurther enzymes in addition to a protein, protein fragment, fusionprotein or derivative of the invention described above are preferredembodiments of the present invention. These include in particular otherproteases, amylases, cellulases, hemicellulases such as for exampleβ-glucanases, oxidoreductases such as, for example, laccases, cutinases,and/or lipases, but also esterases and all other enzymes described inthe prior art for this area of use.

Enzymes such as proteases, amylases, lipases or cellulases have beenused for decades as active components in washing and cleaning products.Their particular contribution to the washing and, respectively, cleaningperformance of the agent in question is, in the case of protease, theability to break down proteinaceous soilings, in the case of amylase,the breaking-down of starch-containing soilings, and, in the case oflipase, fat-cleaving activity. Cellulases are preferably used in washingproducts, in particular due to their contribution to the secondarywashing performance of a washing product and due to their fiber actionon textiles, in addition to their soil-removing, i.e. primary washingand cleaning performance. The particular hydrolysis products areattacked, dissolved, emulsified or suspended by the other washing orcleaning product components or are, due to their greater solubility,washed away with the wash liquor, advantageously resulting insynergistic effects between the enzymes and the other components.

Proteases can exert an effect on natural fibers, in particular on woolor silk, which is comparable to the contribution by cellulase to thesecondary washing performance of a washing product. Due to their actionon the surface structure of such fabrics, they can exert a smoothinginfluence on the material and thereby counteract felting.

Other enzymes extend the cleaning performance of appropriate products bytheir in each case specific enzyme performance. Examples of theseinclude hemicellulases such as, for example, β-glucanases (WO 99/06515and WO 99/06516), oxidoreductases such as, for example, laccases (WO00/39306) or pectin-dissolving enzymes (WO 00/42145) which are used, inparticular, in special washing products.

Enzymes suitable for use in washing or cleaning products of theinvention are primarily those from microorganisms such as bacteria orfungi. They are obtained from suitable microorganisms in a manner knownper se by means of fermentation processes which are described, forexample, in German Laid-Open Specifications DE 1940488, and DE 2121397,the U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,957, U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,738, European patentapplication EP 006638 and international patent application WO 91/02792.

Particularly during storage, a protein of the invention and/or otherproteins present may be protected by stabilizers from, for example,denaturing, decay or inactivation, for example by physical influences,oxidation or proteolytic cleavage. This applies to all products of theinvention, in particular washing and cleaning products.

One group of stabilizers is of reversible protease inhibitors whichdissociate off when diluting the product in the wash liquor. Benzamidinehydrochloride and leupeptin are established for this purpose.Frequently, borax, boric acids, boronic acids or salts or esters thereofare used, including especially derivatives with aromatic groups, forexample, according to WO 95/12655, ortho-substituted, according to WO92/19707, meta-substituted, and, according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,873,para-substituted phenylboronic acids, or salts or esters thereof. Theapplications WO 98/13460 and EP 583534 disclose peptide aldehydes, i.e.oligopeptides with reduced C terminus, specifically those of 2-50monomers, for the reversible inhibition of washing and cleaning productproteases. The peptidic reversible protease inhibitors include, interalia, ovomucoid (WO 93/00418). For example, the application WO 00/01826discloses specific reversible peptide inhibitors of the proteasesubtilisin for use in protease-containing agents, and WO 00/01831discloses corresponding fusion proteins of protease and inhibitor.

Further enzyme stabilizers are amino alcohols such as mono-, di-,triethanol- and -propanolamine and mixtures thereof, aliphaticcarboxylic acids up to C₁₂, as disclosed, for example, by theapplications EP 0378261 and WO 97/05227, such as succinic acid, otherdicarboxylic acids or salts of said acids. The application DE 19650537discloses end-group-capped fatty amide alkoxylates for this purpose. Asdisclosed in WO 97/18287, particular organic acids used as builders arecapable of additionally stabilizing a contained enzyme.

Lower aliphatic alcohols, but especially polyols such as, for example,glycerol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol or sorbitol, are otherfrequently used enzyme stabilizers. Calcium salts are also used, suchas, for example, calcium acetate or the calcium formate disclosed forthis purpose in EP 028865, and magnesium salts, for example according toEuropean application EP 378262.

Polyamide oligomers (WO 99/43780) or polymeric compounds such as lignin(WO 97/00932), water-soluble vinyl copolymers (EP 828762) or, asdisclosed in EP 702712, cellulose ethers, acrylic polymers and/orpolyamides stabilize the enzyme preparation inter alia against physicalinfluences or pH fluctuations. Polyamine N-oxide-containing polymers (EP587550 and EP 581751) simultaneously act as enzyme stabilizers and ascolor transfer inhibitors. Other polymeric stabilizers are the linearC₈-C₁₈ polyoxyalkylenes disclosed, in addition to other components, inWO 97/05227. As in the applications WO 97/43377 and WO 98/45396,alkylpolyglycosides could stabilize the enzymic components of theproduct of the invention and even increase their performance.Crosslinked N-containing compounds, as disclosed in WO 98/17764, fulfilla double function as soil release agents and as enzyme stabilizers.Hydrophobic, nonionic polymer acts in a mixture together with otherstabilizers, according to the application WO 97/32958, in a stabilizingmanner on a cellulase so that those or similar components may also besuitable for the enzyme essential to the invention.

As disclosed inter alia in EP 780466, reducing agents and antioxidantsincrease the stability of the enzymes against oxidative decay.Sulfur-containing reducing agents are disclosed, for example, in EP080748 and EP 080223. Other examples are sodium sulfite (EP 533239) andreducing sugars (EP 656058).

Frequently used are also combinations of stabilizers, for example ofpolyols, boric acid and/or borax in the application WO 96/31589, thecombination of boric acid or borate, reducing salts and succinic acid orother dicarboxylic acids in the application EP 126505 or the combinationof boric acid or borate with polyols or polyamino compounds and withreducing salts, as disclosed in the application EP 080223. According toWO 98/13462, the action of peptide-aldehyde stabilizers is increased bycombination with boric acid and/or boric acid derivatives and polyolsand, according to WO 98/13459, still further enhanced by the additionaluse of calcium ions.

Products containing stabilized enzyme activities are preferredembodiments of the present invention. Particular preference is given tothose containing enzymes stabilized in a plurality of the waysindicated.

Since products of the invention can be provided in any conceivable form,enzymes or proteins of the invention in any formulations appropriate foraddition to the particular products are respective embodiments of thepresent invention. Examples thereof include liquid formulations, solidgranules or capsules.

The encapsulated form is a way of protecting the enzymes or otheringredients against other components such as, for example, bleaches, orof making possible a controlled release. Depending on their size, saidcapsules are divided into milli-, micro- and nanocapsules, microcapsulesbeing particularly preferred for enzymes. Such capsules are disclosed,for example, in the patent applications WO 97/24177 and DE 19918267. Apossible encapsulation method is to encapsulate the proteins, startingfrom a mixture of the protein solution with a solution or suspension ofstarch or a starch derivative, in this substance. The application WO01/38471 describes such an encapsulation method.

In the case of solid products, the proteins may be used, for example, indried, granulated and/or encapsulated form. They may be addedseparately, i.e. as a separate phase, or together with other componentsin the same phase, with or without compaction. If microencapsulatedenzymes are to be processed in solid form, it is possible to remove thewater from the aqueous solutions resulting from the work-up by usingmethods known in the prior art, such as spray drying, removing bycentrifugation or resolubilizing. The particles obtained in this way areusually between 50 and 200 μm in size.

It is possible to add to liquid, gel-like or paste-like products of theinvention the enzymes and also the protein of the invention, startingfrom protein recovery carried out according to the prior art, andpreparation in a concentrated aqueous or nonaqueous solution, suspensionor emulsion, but also in gel form or encapsulated or as dried powder.Such washing or cleaning products of the invention are usually preparedby simply mixing the ingredients which may be introduced as solids or assolution into an automated mixer.

Apart from the primary washing performance, the proteases present inwashing products may further fulfill the function of activating, or,after an appropriate period of action, inactivating other enzymiccomponents by proteolytic cleavage, as has been disclosed, for example,in the applications WO 94/29426 or EP 747471. Comparable regulatoryfunctions are also possible via the protein of the invention. Anotherembodiment of the present invention relates to those products containingcapsules of protease-sensitive material, which capsules are hydrolyzed,for example, by proteins of the invention at the intended time andrelease their contents. A comparable effect may also be achieved inother multi-phase products.

Products for the treatment of textile raw materials or for textile care,which are characterized in that they comprise, alone or in addition toother active ingredients, any of the proteins, protein fragments, fusionproteins or derivatives of the invention described above, in particularfor fibers or textiles containing natural components and veryparticularly for those containing wool or silk are a further embodimentof the invention.

Natural fibers in particular, such as wool or silk, for example, aredistinguished by a characteristic, microscopic surface structure. Saidsurface structure can, in the long term, result in undesired effectssuch as, for example, felting, as discussed by way of example for woolin the prior article by R. Breier in Melliand Textilberichte from Apr.1, 2000 (p. 263). In order to avoid such effects, the natural rawmaterials are treated with agents of the invention which contribute, forexample, to smoothing the flaked surface structure based on proteinstructures and thereby counteract felting.

In one preferred embodiment, the product containing a protease of theinvention is designed in such a way that it can be used regularly as acare agent, for example by adding it to the washing process, applying itafter washing or independently of the washing. The desired effect is toobtain a smooth surface structure of the textile over a long durationand/or to prevent and/or reduce damage to the fabric.

Methods for machine cleaning textiles or hard surfaces, which methodsare characterized in that in at least one of the method steps a protein,protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative of the inventiondescribed above becomes active, in particular in an amount of from 40 μgto 32 g, preferably from 50 μg to 24 g, particularly preferably from 100μg to 16 g and very particularly preferably from 200 μg to 8 g perapplication, are a separate subject matter of the invention.

These include both manual and machine methods, with preference formachine methods because they can be controlled more precisely inrelation to, for example, amounts employed and times of action.

Methods for cleaning of textiles are generally distinguished by severalmethod steps comprising applying various cleaning-active substances tothe material to be cleaned and, after the time of action, washing themoff, or by the material to be cleaned being treated in any other waywith a detergent or a solution of said agent. The same applies tomethods for cleaning of any other materials as textiles which areclassified under the term hard surfaces. It is possible to add proteinsof the invention to at least one of the method steps of all conceivablewashing or cleaning methods, which methods then become embodiments ofthe present invention.

Since preferred enzymes of the invention already by nature possess aprotein-dissolving activity and also exhibit said activity in mediawhich otherwise have no cleaning power, such as, for example, instraight buffer, an individual partial step of such a method for machinecleaning of textiles may consist of applying, if desired in addition tostabilizing compounds, salts or buffer substances, an enzyme of theinvention as single cleaning-active component. This is a particularlypreferred embodiment of the present invention.

In a further preferred embodiment of such methods, the relevant enzymesof the invention are provided in one of the formulations mentioned abovefor products of the invention, preferably washing or cleaning productsof the invention.

Methods for the treatment of textile raw materials or for textile care,which methods are characterized in that in at least one of the methodsteps a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative of theinvention described above becomes active, are preferred embodiments ofthis subject matter of the invention, in particular for textile rawmaterials, fibers or textiles containing natural components and veryparticularly for those containing wool or silk.

They may be, for example, methods in which materials are prepared foruse in textiles, for example for anti-felt finishing, or, for example,methods which add a care component to the cleaning of worn textiles. Dueto the above-described action of proteases on natural,protein-containing raw materials, particular embodiments comprisemethods for treating textile raw materials, fibers or textilescontaining natural components, in particular containing wool or silk.

The use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for cleaning textiles or hard surfaces isa separate subject matter of the invention.

The concentration ranges listed above preferably apply for this use.

Proteins of the invention may be used, in particular according to theabove-described properties and the above-described methods, in order toremove proteinaceous soilings from textiles or from hard surfaces.Embodiments are represented for example by handwashing or manual removalof spots from textiles or from hard surfaces or the use in connectionwith a machine method.

In a preferred embodiment of this use, the relevant enzymes of theinvention are provided in one of the formulations mentioned above forproducts of the invention, preferably washing or cleaning products.

The use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for activating or deactivating ingredientsof washing or cleaning products is a further embodiment of this subjectmatter of the invention.

Protein components of washing or cleaning products, as is known, can beinactivated by the action of a protease. The present invention relatesto specifically using this otherwise rather undesired effect. It islikewise possible, as described above, that proteolysis actuallyactivates another component, for example if said component is a hybridprotein of the actual enzyme and the corresponding inhibitor, asdisclosed, for example, in the application WO 00/01831. Another exampleof a regulation of this kind is one in which an active component, inorder to protect or control its activity, has been encapsulated in amaterial susceptible to proteolytic attack. Proteins of the inventioncan thus be used for inactivation reactions, activation reactions orrelease reactions, in particular in multiphase products.

Despite their diversity, all other technical methods, uses andcorresponding agents outside the problem of washing and cleaning arecombined into one subject matter of the invention hereinbelow, as longas they are characterized by a protein of the invention. Thiscompilation is not to be understood as an exclusive listing, but liststhe most important, currently discernible possible uses of proteases ofthe invention. Indicators of further possible uses which are likewiseincluded are provided for example by the manual “Industrial enzymes andtheir applications” by H. Uhlig, published by Wiley, New York, 1998. Ifother technical fields prove able to be developed further by usingproteases of the invention, then said fields are included within thescope of protection of the present invention.

One embodiment of this subject matter of the invention is represented bythe use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for biochemically analyzing or forsynthesizing low molecular weight compounds or of proteins.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. According to the invention and according to Römpp,“Lexikon Chemie” (Version 2.0, Stuttgart/New York: Georg Thieme Verlag,1999), enzymic analysis means any biochemical analysis which usesspecific enzymes or substrates in order to determine, on the one hand,the identity or concentration of substrates or, on the other hand, theidentity or activity of enzymes. Areas of application are any areas ofwork related to biochemistry, in particular molecular biology andprotein chemistry. This use preferably takes place within the scope ofan enzymatic analysis method. A preferred embodiment of this subjectmatter of the invention is the use for determining the terminal groupsin a sequence analysis.

The use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for preparing, purifying or synthesizingnatural substances or biological valuable substances is subject matterof the invention.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. Thus, it may be necessary, for example, in thecourse of purifying natural substances or biological valuablesubstances, to remove from said substances protein contaminations,examples of which are low molecular weight compounds, any cellularconstituents or storage substances or proteins. This can be carried outboth on the laboratory scale and the industrial scale, for example afterbiotechnological production of a valuable substance.

A proteolytic enzyme of the invention is used for the synthesis ofproteins or other low molecular weight chemical compounds by reversingthe reaction which they catalyze by nature, for example when it isintended to link protein fragments to one another or to bind amino acidsto a compound which is not predominantly composed of protein. Possibleuses of this kind are possible, for example, following the applicationEP 380362.

A further embodiment of this subject matter of the invention isrepresented by the use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein orderivative of the invention described above for the treatment of naturalraw materials, in particular for the treatment of surfaces, veryparticularly in a method for the treatment of leather.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. It is necessary for example when proteincontaminations are to be removed from natural raw materials. By this aremeant primarily raw materials to be obtained non-microbiologically, forexample from agriculture, but also substances producedbiotechnologically by fermentation, such as, for example, antibiotics.

A preferred embodiment is the use for the treatment of surfaces, andvery particularly in a method for the treatment of the economicallyimportant raw material leather. Thus, water-soluble proteins are removedfrom the hide material with the aid of proteolytic enzymes during thetanning process, in particular in the step of alkaline steep (Römpp,“Lexikon Chemie”, Version 2.0, Stuttgart/New York: Georg Thieme Verlag,1999). Proteases of the invention are suitable for this, in particularunder alkaline conditions and/or in the presence of denaturing agents.

The use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for the obtainment or treatment of rawmaterials or intermediates in the manufacture of textiles, in particularfor removing protective layers from fabrics, is another embodiment ofthis subject matter of the invention.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. An example of the obtainment or treatment of rawmaterials or intermediates in the manufacture of textiles is theprocessing of cotton from which capsule components need to be removed ina process referred to as sizing; another example is the treatment ofwool; the processing of raw silk is also similar. Enzymic methods, oruses, are superior to comparable chemical methods, in particular withrespect to their environmental compatibility.

In a preferred embodiment, proteins of the invention are used forremoving protective layers from textiles, in particular fromintermediate products or valuable substances, or smoothing theirsurface, before further treatment in a subsequent processing step.

A further embodiment of this subject matter of the invention isrepresented by the use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein orderivative of the invention described above for the treatment of textileraw materials or for textile care, in particular for the treatment ofwool or silk or wool- or silk-containing textile blends.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. In accordance with what has been stated above, therelevant textile raw materials are freed of contaminations by theprotease; in addition, a material consisting at least partly of proteinbenefits from the surface-smoothing and care properties of theproteolytic enzyme. For this reason, the use for the care of therelevant materials is also included. The surface treatment of wool orsilk or wool- or silk-containing textile blends is therefore claimed inparticular. This applies both to the production of such textiles and tothe care during usage, for example in connection with the cleaning oftextiles (see above).

The use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for the treatment of photographic films,in particular for removing gelatin-containing or similar protectivelayers, is another embodiment of this subject matter of the invention.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. Films such as, for example, X-ray films, are coatedwith such protective layers, in particular those made of silversalt-containing gelatin emulsions. These layers need to be removed fromthe backing material after exposure. For this, proteases of theinvention may be used, in particular under alkaline or slightlydenaturing reaction conditions.

The use of a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivative ofthe invention described above for preparing food or animal feed isanother embodiment of this subject matter of the invention.

This use preferably takes place within the scope of correspondingproducts or methods. Thus proteases have been used for the preparationof food from time immemorial. An example of this is the use of rennetfor the maturing process of cheese or other milk products. A protein ofthe invention may be added to or be used to completely carry out suchprocesses. Carbohydrate-rich food or food raw materials fornon-nutritional purposes, such as, for example, cereal flour or dextrin,may also be treated with appropriate proteases in order to removeaccompanying proteins from them. A protease of the invention is suitablefor those applications, too, in particular if they are to be carried outunder alkaline or slightly denaturing conditions.

This applies accordingly for the preparation of animal feed. In additionto a complete removal of proteins, it may also be of interest here totreat the proteinaceous starting substances or substance mixtures withproteases only for a short time in order to render them more readilydigestible for domestic animals. Such a treatment can also be employedfor example for producing media ingredients for example for fermentingmicroorganisms.

In another embodiment of this subject matter of the invention, theproteins of the invention described above are used for cosmeticpurposes.

Thus, cosmetics containing a protein, protein fragment, fusion proteinor derivative of the invention described above, or cosmetic methodsincorporating a protein, protein fragment, fusion protein or derivativeof the invention described above, or the use of a protein, proteinfragment, fusion protein or derivative of the invention described abovefor cosmetic purposes, in particular within the framework ofcorresponding methods or in corresponding products, are claimed.

Since proteases also play a crucial part in the desquamation of humanskin (T. Egelrud et al., Acta Derm. Venerol., volume 71 (1991), pp.471-747), proteases are accordingly also used as bioactive components inskincare products in order to support degradation of the desmosomestructures increasingly present in dry skin, for example according tothe applications WO 95/07688 and WO 99/18219. WO 97/07770, for example,describes the use of subtilisin proteases for cosmetic purposes.Proteases of the invention, in particular those whose activity iscontrolled, for example, after mutagenesis or due to addition ofappropriate substances interacting with them, are also suitable asactive components in skin- or hair-cleaning compositions or carecompositions. Particular preference is given to those preparations ofsaid enzymes, which, as described above, are stabilized, for example bycoupling to macromolecular supports (compare U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,891),and/or are derivatized by point mutations at highly allergenic positionsso that their compatibility with human skin is increased.

Accordingly, the use of proteolytic enzymes of this kind for cosmeticpurposes, in particular in appropriate products such as, for example,shampoos, soaps or washing lotions or in care compositions provided, forexample, in the form of creams, is also included in this subject matterof the invention. The use in a peeling medicament, or its preparation,is also included in this claim.

EXAMPLES

All molecular-biological working steps follow standard methods asindicated, for example, in the manual by Fritsch, Sambrook and Maniatis“Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual”, Cold Spring Harbour LaboratoryPress, New York, 1989, or comparable relevant works. Enzymes and kitswere used in accordance with the instructions of the respectivemanufacturer.

Example 1 Isolation and Identification of a Bacterial Strain withProteolytic Activity

0.1 g of a soil sample were suspended in 1 ml of sterile 0.9% strengthNaCl solution and plated out on agar plates containing milk powder (1.5%agar, 0.5% NaCl, 0.1% K₂HPO₄, 0.1% yeast extract, 2% peptone (from ICN,Eschwede, Cat. No. 104808), 1% milk powder (skim milk; from Difco,Heidelberg, Cat. No. 232100), pH 10). After incubation at 30° C. for 72hours, colonies with clarification zones were evident in the milky agar.Single colonies were removed therefrom and cultivated in Horikoshimedium (0.1% K₂HPO₄, 0.5% yeast extract, 1% peptone, 0.02%MgSO_(4 , 0.3)% Na₂CO₃, pH 9) in Erlenmeyer flasks at 37° C., shaking at200 rpm.

One of these clones was deposited on Mar. 1, 2001, at the DeutscheSammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, Mascheroder Weg 1b,38124 Brunswick (DSMZ). Its designation there is ID 01-193, and theaccession number is DSM 14392. The standard information on the featuresof this biological material, as determined on deposition by the DSMZ onApr. 23, 2001, is compiled in table 1 below. It therefore appears to bean alkaliphilic Bacillus. TABLE 1 Microbiological properties of Bacillussp. (DSM 14392). (Determined by the DSMZ on Apr. 23, 2001.) PropertyResult Cell form Rods Width [μm] 0.8-1.0 Length [μm] 2.0-3.0 Sporespositive, oval Sporangium swollen negative Growth, CASO, pH 7 positiveGrowth, DSM Med. 31, pH 9.7 positive Alkaline tests: NaCl 2% positive 5% positive  7% positive 10% positive 12% positive 14% positive 16%Positive Hydrolysis of Tween 40 negative Tween 60 negative Tween 80negative Growth at (DSM Med. 31) 10° C. positive 40° C. positive 45° C.negative Pattern of cellular fatty acids typical of genus BacillusPartial sequencing of the 98.3% similarity to B. sp. DSM 8717 16S rDNA(Microbiology 1995, Volume 141, pp 1745-1761)

Example 2 Cloning and Sequencing of the Mature Protease

Chromosomal DNA from Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) was prepared by standardmethods, treated with the restriction enzyme Sau 3A, and the resultingfragments were cloned into the vector pAWA22. This is an expressionvector derived from pBC16 for use in bacillus species (Bernhard et al.(1978), J. Bacteriol., Volume 133 (2), pp. 897-903). This vector wastransformed into the protease-negative host strain Bacillus subtilis DB104 (Kawamura and Doi (1984), J. Bacteriol., Volume 160 (1), pp.442-444.

The transformants were initially regenerated on DM3 medium (8 g/l agar,0.5 M succinic acid, 3.5 g/l K₂HPO₄, 1.5 g/l KH₂PO₄, 20 mM MgCl₂, 5 g/lcasiamino acids, 5 g/l yeast extract, 6 g/l glucose, 0.1 g/l BSA) andthen transferred to TBY skim milk plates (10 g/l peptone, 10 g/l milkpowder (see above), 5 g/l yeast extract, 5 g/l NaCl, 15 g/l agar).Clones with proteolytic activity were identified from their zones oflysis. One of the resulting clones with proteolytic activity (p/A1) wasselected, and its plasmid was isolated and the insert was sequenced bystandard methods.

The insert approx. 3.1 kb in size contained an open reading frame ofabout 1 kb. The sequence thereof is indicated in the sequence listingunder the heading SEQ ID NO: 1. It comprises 1125 bp. The amino acidsequence derived therefrom comprises 374 amino acids, followed by a stopcodon. It is indicated in the sequence listing under SEQ ID NO:2. Thefirst 105 amino acids thereof are probably not present in the matureprotein, so that the mature protein is envisaged to have a length of 269amino acids.

These sequences were compared in August 2001 with the protease sequencesobtainable from the generally accessible databases Swiss-Prot (GenevaBioinformatics (GeneBio) S.A., Geneva, Switzerland;http://www.genebio.com/sprot.html) and GenBank (National Center forBiotechnology Information NCBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,Md., USA). The most similar enzymes identified thereby are thosesummarized in table 2 below. TABLE 2 Homology of the alkaline proteasefrom Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) to the most similar and furtherrepresentative proteins (percentage values rounded in each case). Ident.Ident. Ident. Enzyme Organism ID DNA propre. mat. prot. AlkalineBacillus Ya-B ELYA-BACSP 98 98 99 elastase Subtilisin P92 Bacillusalkalophilus ELYA_BACAO 69 80 83 Subtilisin 309 Bacillus lentusSUBS_BACLE n. 59 83 (Savinase ®) B. lentus Bacillus lentus SUBB_BACLE n.59 82 alkaline DSM 5483 protease Subtilisin Bacillus Sendai Q45522 66 6979 Sendai Subtilisin AprQ Bacillus sp. Q45523 56 48 60 SubtilisinBacillus SUBT_BACLI n. 48 58 Carlsberg licheniformis Subtilisin NovoBacillus amyloliquefaciens SUBT_BACAM n. 46 56 BPN′ Subtilisin DYBacillus subtilis DY SUBT_BACSD n. 41 56 Subtilisin AprN Bacillussubtilis var. SUBN_BACNA 54 46 55 natto Subtilisin Bacillusamylosacchariticus SUBT_BACSA 54 46 55 Subtilisin Bacillus pumilusSUBT_BACPU n. 40 55 Subtilisin J Geobacillus SUBT_BACST 54 45 55stearothermophilus Subtilisin E Bacillus subtilis SUBT_BACSU 54 46 55The meanings therein are:ID: The entry numbers in the databases Genbank and Swiss-Prot;Ident. DNA: % identity at the DNA level;Ident. propre.: Identity at the amino acid level, based on thepropreprotein, in %;Ident. mat. prot.: Identity at the amino acid level, based on the matureprotein, in %,n.: not indicated in the databases.

The amino acid sequences of these proteases are also compared with oneanother in the alignment in FIG. 1.

Example 3 Purification and Characterization of the Alkaline Protease

100 ml of Horikoshi medium (see above) were added to a 500 ml Erlenmeyerflask, inoculated with one colony of the bacillus strain transformed asin example 2, and cultivated at 37° C. for 72 h until the stationaryphase of growth was reached.

It was possible to isolate a single proteolytic enzyme from thesupernatant of this culture by the following purification steps:dialysis of the supernatant against 20 mM HEPES/NaOH buffer, pH 7.6;negative anion exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose® (fromPharmacia-Amersham Biotech, Sweden); cation exchange chromatography ofthe breakthrough on S-Sepharose® (from Pharmacia-Amersham) eluting witha gradient buffer of HEPES/NaOH, 0-1 M NaCl, pH 7.6. The protease elutedat 0.2 M NaCl and was then concentrated by cation exchangechromatography on Resource S® (from Pharmacia-Amersham) and HEPES/NaOH(pH 7.6) as eluent.

A protein which was pure according to SDS gel electrophoresis andCoomassie staining was obtained in this way.

Example 4 SDS Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis and IsoelectricFocusing

The alkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392) obtained as in example 2and 3 shows in denaturing SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in thePHAST® system supplied by Pharmacia-Amersham Biotech, Sweden, amolecular weight of 26 kD.

According to isoelectric focusing, likewise in the PHAST® systemsupplied by Pharmacia-Amersham Biotech, the isoelectric point of thealkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392) is 11.

Example 5 Enzymatic Properties Specific Activity

The specific activity of the alkaline protease from B. sp. (DSM 14392)purified as in example 2 and 3 was measured using the substrateSuc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide (SEQ ID NO:18) (AAPF; from BachemBiochemica GmbH, Heidelberg). It showed an activity of 9 U/mg onincubation at pH 8.6 and 25° C. for 5 minutes. In this case, 1 U isequivalent to 1 μmol of cleaved substrate per minute.

Example 6 Contribution to the Washing Performance

Textiles which had been soiled in a standardized manner and obtainedfrom the Eidgenössische Material-Prüfungs-und-Versuchsanstalt, St.Gallen, Switzerland (EMPA) or the Wäschereiforschungsanstalt, Krefeld,Germany, were used for this example. The following soilings and textileswere used: A (blood/milk/soot on cotton), B (blood/milk/ink on cotton),C (blood/milk/ink on a polyester-cotton blend), D (blood on cotton).

This test material was used to test the washing performances of variouswashing product formulations, using a launderometer. For this purpose,the liquor ratio was set in each case to 1:12, and washing was carriedout at a temperature of 40° C. for 30 min. The dosage was 5.88 g of theparticular product per 1 of wash liquor. The water hardness was 16°German hardness.

The control washing product used was a basic washing product formulationof the following composition (all values in percent by weight): 4%linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (sodium salt), 4% C₁₂-C₁₈-fatty alcoholsulfate (sodium salt), 5.5% C₁₂-C₁₈-fatty alcohol with 7 EO, 1% sodiumsoap, 11% sodium carbonate, 2.5% amorphous sodium disilicate, 20% sodiumperborate tetrahydrate, 5.5% TAED, 25% zeolite A, 4.5% polycarboxylate,0.5% phosphonate, 2.5% foam inhibitor granules, 5% sodium sulfate, rest:water, optical brighteners, salts. Said formulation was admixed for thedifferent series of experiments with the following proteases in such away that in each case a final concentration of 2.250 PE of proteolyticactivity per 1 of wash liquor was obtained: B. lentus alkaline proteaseF49 (WO 95/23221; manufacturer: Biozym, Kundl, Austria), Savinase®(Novozymes A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark) and the protease of the inventionfrom B. sp (DSM 14392).

After washing, the degree of whiteness of the washed textiles wasmeasured in comparison to that of barium sulfate, which had beennormalized to 100%. The measurement was carried out in a DatacolorSF500-2 spectrometer at 460 nm (UV blocking filter 3), 30 mm diaphragm,without gloss, D65 illuminant, 10°, d/8°. table 3 below summarizes theresults obtained as percent reflectance, i.e. as percentages incomparison with barium sulfate together with the respective startingvalues. The averages of in each case 4 measurements are listed. Theyallow an immediate conclusion to be drawn about the contribution of theenzyme present on the washing performance of the product used. TABLE 3Basic washing product with A B C D starting value 15.8 14.3 11.8 19.9Control without protease 21.7 22.2 14.7 67.9 Protease of the inventionfrom B. sp. 29.9 40.1 32.0 73.0 (DSM 14392) B. lentus alkaline proteaseF49 29.3 30.2 25.2 70.8 Savinase ® 30.0 32.1 29.1 68.8 standarddeviation 1.0 1.1 1.2 0.5

The data show that the protease of the invention from B. sp. (DSM 14392)exhibits distinctly better performance than the established proteases B.lentus alkaline protease F49 and Savinase®, or at least approaches them,for all soilings tested.

Example 7 Contribution to the Cleaning Performance When the ActivityEmployed is Low

Vessels with hard, smooth surfaces were contacted in a standardized waywith mixed starch (E) and milk (F) and washed with commerciallyavailable domestic dishwashing machines. Sample E was washed at 45° C.with the normal program of the Miele® G 676 type dishwasher, and sampleF was washed at 55° C. with the normal program of the Bosch® SGS 4002type dishwasher. 20 g of dishwashing agent were used in each case perdishwashing run. The water hardness was 160 German hardness.

The dishwashing agent used had the following basic formulation (allvalues in each case in percent by weight): 55% sodium tripolyphosphate(calculated as anhydrous), 4% amorphous sodium disilicate (calculated asanhydrous), 22% sodium carbonate, 9% sodium perborate, 2% TAED, 2%nonionic surfactant, rest: water, dyes, perfume. This basic formulationwas admixed for the various experiments, with identical activities, withthe various proteases, B. lentus alkaline protease F49, Properase® andthe protease of Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392) of the invention, in such a waythat in each case an activity of 10 000 PE per dishwashing run wasobtained. This corresponded in each case to approx. 0.1 mg of proteaseprotein per g of cleaning product concentrate.

After washing, the removal of the soiling E was determinedgravimetrically in percent. For this purpose, the difference between theweight of the soiled and then rinsed vessel and the starting weight ofsaid vessel was related to the weight difference of the unwashed vesselto the starting weight. This relation can be regarded as percentremoval. For soiling F, washing was followed by a visual assessment on ascale from 0 (=unchanged, i.e. very heavy soiling) to 10 (=no soilingperceptible). The results obtained are summarized in Table 4 below whichlists the averages of in each case 8 measurements. They allow animmediate conclusion to be drawn about the contribution of the enzymepresent to the washing performance of the product used. TABLE 4 Basicdishwashing agent with E F Protease of the invention from Bacillus. sp.58.1 8.1 (DSM 14392) B. lentus alkaline protease F49 60.6 7.8Properase ® 56.5 8.2These results show that the performance of the Bacillus sp. (DSM 14392)protease of the invention, in machine dishwashing agents is at leastequal to that of the other proteases tested; and this even at acomparatively low activity used.

Example 8 Contribution to the Cleaning Performance when the ActivityEmployed is Higher

Vessels were soiled in a standardized way with soft-boiled egg (G),egg/milk (H) and milk (I) as in example 7 and washed in the same wayusing the same cleaning product formulations in each case. Samples G andH were washed at 55° C. with the normal program of the Bosch® SGS 4002type dishwasher and Sample I was washed at 45° C. with the normalprogram of the Miele® G676 type dishwasher. The only difference fromexample 7 was that 20 000 PE of the respective proteases were employedin each case. This corresponded in each case to approx. 0.2 mg ofprotease in the cleaning product concentrate.

The results for samples G and H were obtained gravimetrically in thesame way as in example 7 and those for soiling I on the other hand by avisual assessment on a scale from 0 (=unchanged, i.e. very heavysoiling) to 10 (=no soiling perceptible). The results obtained aresummarized in table 5 below. The averages from in each case 8measurements are indicated therein. TABLE 5 Basic dishwashing agent withG H I Protease of the invention from 19.7 21.0 6.6 Bacillus sp. (DSM14392) B. lentus alkaline protease F49 52.4 81.0 6.1 Properase ® 17.316.9 6.1The higher or at least comparable contribution of the protease of theinvention to the overall cleaning performance of the relevant productcompared with the proteases B. lentus alkaline protease F49 andProperase ® which are established for machine dishwashing products is#also evident when the protease activities employed are higher.

1. An isolated alkaline protease comprising an amino acid sequencehaving at least 98.8% identity with that of SEQ ID NO:2.
 2. An isolatedalkaline protease of comprising an amino acid sequence which isidentical in at least 268 positions with that of SEQ ID NO:2 inpositions 106 to
 374. 3. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising:a) a nucleotide sequence having at least 98.6% identity with that of SEQID NO:1; or b) a nucleotide sequence having at least 99.4% identity withthat of SEQ ID NO:1 in positions 316 to
 1125. 4. The isolated proteaseof claim 1 or a fragment thereof, wherein the protease or fragmentthereof is capable of hydrolyzing protein.
 5. The isolated protease ofclaim 1 or a fragment thereof, wherein the protease or fragment isderivatized by at least one of coupling of low molecular weightcompounds, chemical transformation of a side chain, covalent bonding ofbifunctional chemical compounds or macromolecules, or association withconcomitant substances.
 6. The isolated protease of claim 1 or afragment thereof, wherein the protease or fragment is stabilized by atleast one of coupling to one or more polymers or point mutagenesis.
 7. Aprotein or fragment thereof, comprising at least one antigenicdeterminant in common with the protease of claim
 1. 8. The isolatedprotease of claim 1 or a fragment or derivative thereof, wherein theprotease, fragment or derivative is isolated from a microorganism. 9.The protease, fragment or derivative of claim 8, wherein themicroorganism is a gram-positive bacterium.
 10. The protease, fragmentor derivative of claim 9, wherein the bacterium is of the genusbacillus.
 11. The protease, fragment or derivative of claim 9, whereinthe bacterium is of the species Bacillus sp.
 12. The protease, fragmentor derivative of claim 9, wherein the bacterium is Bacillus sp. (DSM14392).
 13. A vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 3.14. A cell comprising the vector of claim
 13. 15. A host cell capable ofexpressing the protease of claim
 1. 16. The host cell of claim 15,wherein the cell is a bacterium.
 17. The host cell of claim 15, whereinthe cell is capable of secreting the protease.
 18. The host cell ofclaim 15 wherein, the cell is a eukaryotic cell.
 19. The host cell ofclaim 18, wherein the cell modifies the protease posttranslationally.20. A washing or cleaning product comprising the protease of claim 1, ora fragment or derivative thereof.
 21. The product of claim 20 furthercomprising at least one of a protease, amylase, cellulase,hemicellulase, oxidoreductase, or lipase.
 22. A cosmetic comprising theprotease of claim 1, or a fragment or derivative thereof, and a suitablecarrier.